(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa D-O-T’s driver’s license center in Waterloo is closed today (Friday) and will reopen Tuesday in a new location. Darcy Doty, director of customer service for the Iowa D-O-T, says the new location is near the now-closed site inside Waterloo’s Crossroads Mall. “Being in the mall, we are required to follow the mall standard hours of operation,” Doty says, “so this gives us a little bit more flexibility in offering hours that are convenient for our customers.”

Doty says if the mall closed for any reason, the old driver’s license center had to close, too. The Iowa D-O-T operates 18 service centers in Iowa for driver’s license renewals, including Council Bluffs and Sioux City. “A lot of our moves are due to the lease in our current locations have ended and we’ve had an opportunity to look at some different locations that we feel are great for customer service and customer access,” Doty says, “good customer parking, that we have control over the opening of customer entrances, so that we can control those hours of operation.”

Late last month, the driver’s license center in Fort Dodge reopened in a new space. “Last year we were able to open a new facility in Mason City, just move from one location to the other with a new layout, look and feel,” Doty says. “…We are moving when it makes sense and also looking at our budget because we want to make sure that we are budget conscious as we look for new locations.”

Doty says 52 percent of Iowa driver’s license renewals are handled by an Iowa D-O-T service center. Iowans may renew their driver’s licenses at many county treasurer’s offices or at one of the D-O-T service centers. And some Iowans are able to renew online and those are processed by the D-O-T.