From Holly Tanner, Columbia County Clerk: DMV offices to close for statewide technology upgrade
Columbia County NY — The Columbia County Department of Motor Vehicles, along with all DMV offices in New York state, will undergo a large-scale system upgrade next month that will require the Hudson DMV, along with every other DMV, to be closed and potentially alter our business hours.
In February, the New York State DMV is implementing the initial phase of a multi-year project to replace and modernize its aging technology systems. To bring the first part of the new system online, the state is ceasing all DMV operations, including online transactions and their phone system at 2 p.m. on Friday, February 13, 2026. Due to this the Hudson DMV will be CLOSED on Friday, February 13 to the public, staff will report to work for training purposes.
The offices will remain closed Monday, which is the Presidents Day holiday, and Tuesday (February 16-17), with a planned reopening on Wednesday, February 18 provided we receive the go-ahead from State DMV leadership.
During this time, the state DMV will migrate about 30 million records to the new system and complete the transition to bring the first phase of the upgrade online. Again, no DMV transactions will be able to be completed during this period, including through the state DMV website, and they will also not be answering their phones.
The state DMV’s implementation timeline calls for offices to be operational and open for customer transactions beginning Wednesday, February 18. We plan on opening that day at normal time, 9am on February 18. Any changes to that will be posted on the county website (www.columbiacountyny.com) and on the County DMV Facebook page which is Holly Tanner County Clerk/DMV.
“As Co-Chair of the State DMV Committee for the NYS Association of County Clerks, I have been intimately involved in this transition,” stated County Clerk Holly Tanner, “including this shutdown period. While it will be difficult for customers, there is no other way to accomplish the important work of migrating the data without shutting down. I pushed very hard on the state to announce this plan as early as possible, to give people enough time to do the DMV work that they need way ahead of the shutdown,” Tanner said. “We also ask for patience when we reopen as the entire state will be working with this new licensing system, and while we have all been in training, there will still be a learning curve. The Hudson DMV does not do appointments, we are first come, first serve and if necessary we will prioritize Columbia County residents first during the first few weeks.”
ABOUT THE DMV SYSTEM UPGRADE
New York State DMV has contracted with software company FAST Enterprises, LLC, which has implemented similar systems in more than 20 other states, to help NYS DMV modernize its technology platforms and service delivery in two major stages over the next two years. The new technology will replace and consolidate a significant portion of DMV’s legacy technology, some of which are over 50 years old. The goal of this initiative is to make the DMV more secure, stable, and agile and to provide DMV customers with more efficient, secure, and convenient services.