Like so many working parents, I know it takes a lot to balance work with the demands of family life, whether it’s paying bills, school conferences, soccer games, doctor appointments, or the challenges of helping out with our own parents.

As your Secretary of State, I am committed to making it easier, faster and better for you to do business with our department, no matter what’s on your plate. 

One of our most popular initiatives to help us meet those goals is ExpressSOS.com – our expanded online services. Think of it as your own online, no-wait Secretary of State where you can renew your tabs, renew your standard driver’s license (unless we need a new photo), get a duplicate car title, sign up on the organ donor registry and much more. As a matter of fact, you can go online, through midnight on your birthday, to renew your tabs. Just print out proof of purchase to carry with you until your tabs arrive in the mail.

Since coming into office, we’ve tripled the number of online services. More than three million transactions have been handled successfully on ExpressSOS.com, which means millions of customers didn’t have to drive to one of our offices, park, take a number and wait in line.

Our online option is so popular that those customers who do have to come into one of our branches should see shorter lines and faster service.

Don’t have a home computer? Visit your local library. We’ve partnered with libraries statewide to highlight their computers as an easy way to access Secretary of State Services at ExpressSOS.com. Our libraries are the heart of their communities and there is no institution better at connecting people with the information they want and need. 

Michiganians made 56 million visits to their local libraries last year. About 13 million used the available 11,229 public computers in Michigan libraries to do everything from search for a job to plan a vacation or shop. Our goal is that the 25 percent of residents who don’t have home Internet service or printers can take advantage of this convenient service.

Library patrons can get help with ExpressSOS.com from our customer service representatives by calling toll-free at 888-767-6424 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.

Other customer-friendly alternatives include renew-by-mail and kiosks at some of our branches, where you can renew your tabs; find a list at Michigan.gov/sos. A new pilot program at two Meijer stores is underway, which means customers can get their milk, bread, eggs, maybe a fishing pole and their tabs in a single shopping trip.

I encourage you to go online, first, so you can spend your time doing the things you love and with the people you love, not standing in line.  

— Ruth Johnson is Michigan Secretary of State.