With more than three times the number of Florida driver licenses set to expire in 2025, the Lee County Tax Collector’s Office is looking at ways to make the process as expedited as possible for residents. 

In some areas around the county, locations have seen wait times increase when it comes to license renewal or changes. Appointments on a rolling 30-day schedule are full up. 

In August 2024, the Florida Department of Highway Safety released a Driver License Renewal Forecast. Data shows that the number of licenses that expired in 2024 was 24,303. The renewal forecast shows that 87,544 licenses are set to expire in 2025; 88,019 in 2026; and 87,460 in 2027. For IDs, the number went from 2,957 in 2024 to a projected 4,667 in 2025; 4,617 in 2026; and 4,895 in 2027. 

“These numbers are contributing to wait times,” said Lauren Bernaldo, chief communications officer for the Lee County Tax Collector via email. “There’s also been a lot of coverage on the REAL ID deadline coming up on May 7, which has generated lots of questions.”

With the REAL ID verification, Bernaldo reported no hiccups, unless they have customers who don’t have the proper documentation to receive their REAL ID credential. She said the latest numbers show fewer than 1% of Lee County residents (approximately 4,000) are not REAL ID compliant. The larger impact on queues is the increase in license renewals.

Average wait times for the Cape Coral office from Feb. 3, 2025, to April 25, 2025 show the average wait for customers with appointments for driver license or ID change or replacement is 27 minutes, with the average wait for walk-in customers at an hour. 

For driver license or ID renewal, the average wait for customers with appointments was 26 minutes, with the average wait for walk-in customers at 55 minutes, according to LCTC. 

“It’s possible that customers who do not have the proper documents to complete their transaction must return another day,” Bernaldo said.  “We also let customers know when wait times will be long, offering them times to come back later in the day, or on another day.

“Before coming into our office, check our website to see whether you need a service that can be done online, like renewing your vehicle, vessel, and/or mobile home registration, paying your property tax, paying your business tax, purchasing a specialty plate, or renewing your driver license. If you do need to come in, make sure you have the documentation needed to complete your transaction. Finally, if you have an appointment and know that you cannot make it, please cancel so someone else can reserve that spot.”

As for booking appointments, Bernaldo said, “We do open new appointments on a rolling 30-day basis for all services except road tests, which open on a 60-day rolling basis, so new appointments are being added daily. In addition, when an appointment is canceled, it is put back on the site for someone else to book.”

LCTC just completed a 90-day pilot where it opened three of its offices (North Fort Myers, Downtown Fort Myers, and Cape Coral) an hour earlier (7:30 a.m.) on both Mondays and Fridays. 

“We are currently looking at the data to determine how much of an impact this made on customer wait time and the number of customers seen,” Bernaldo said. 

The pilot wrapped on April 25 so, starting in May, the office will gather feedback from its team about how it worked and what impact it had on their experience. 

“We’ll review both the data and the team’s input and plan to share a full report with Leadership sometime in June,” Bernaldo said. “From there, we’ll determine whether adjusted hours are feasible, and sustainable, to move forward with implementation.”

Bernaldo said as Lee County continues to grow, the office is committed to meeting the evolving needs of the community. In September 2024, the office purchased a centrally located 29,000-square-foot building at 3650 Colonial Blvd. located near I-75. 

“This investment is part of our ongoing efforts to explore innovative ways to enhance customer service and efficiency,” she said. “This year, we are working to reimagine the way we deliver our services, anticipating future demands and improving the customer experience.”

Planning further into the future, the LCTC office has been approved by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles for mobile units that can provide driver licenses and ID cards and vehicle, vessel, and mobile home registrations. These units can be used at events, during disaster recovery, at assisted living facilities, and community centers, freeing up space at our service centers.

“We don’t have any mobile units in service, as the state’s approval came after our current year’s budget was finalized,” Bernaldo said. “As we begin planning for our (fiscal year 2026) budget, we’re carefully evaluating which projects will have the greatest impact on customer service. Right now, we believe utilizing our new building on Colonial Boulevard that will better serve our community’s immediate needs, so that project is our top priority. Mobile units remain on our radar, and we may look to incorporate them into our (fiscal year 2027) plans.”

Currently, customers can access LCTC services in-person at one of six locations either via appointment or as a walk-in. Residents can also use online services at LeeTC.com, mail services, kiosks (located at each office site), and/or Publix kiosks located throughout Lee County.

“Our mission is to deliver five-star service to every customer who walks through our doors,” Bernaldo said. “We know that life is busy, and when someone takes time to visit us, they deserve a smooth and efficient experience. We’re constantly listening, learning, and adapting, whether that’s through technology upgrades, process improvements, or new service innovations, to make things easier for the customers we serve.”

The six LCTC locations with a total staff of 266 employees are in Bonita Springs, Cape Coral, Downtown Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers, and South Fort Myers.

More information may be found at leetc.com.