Delaware DMV fee increase proposed

The proposed fee increases would add $23.9 million to the state’s transportation infrastructure fund.

Last year, a proposed ten-cent increase in Delaware’s gas tax saw little support in the General Assembly. Now, lawmakers will consider an increase in a number of fees at the Division of Motor Vehicles. 

“They haven’t been raised for a very long time,” said State House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, a Democrat from Bear. 

The proposed increases in HB 140 include moving up the driver’s license late renewal fee from $1.15 to $10. The fee to reinstate a revoked license would increase from $143.75 to $200. Neither fee has been increased since 1990. Those changes would add nearly $500,000 to the Transportation Trust Fund. 

“This will put people back to work,” said State House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf, a Democrat from Rehoboth. “It will increase our road projects tremendously, especially on the repaving side of it.”

Other proposed fee increases include the following:

Temporary tag fee – $10 to $20
Duplicate driver license fee – $10 to $20
Duplicate title fee – $25 to $50
Duplicate vehicle validation sticker – $1 to $5
Duplicate vehicle registration card – $2 to $10
Vehicle registration late renewal fee – $10 to $20
Driver’s license record sale fee – $15 to $25
Retain vehicle tag fee – $10 to $20
Vehicle title fee – $25 to $35
Title lien fee – $10 to $20 

The road issue and the infrastructure issue is not a partisan problem,” said Schwartzkopf, even though no Republicans have signed on as sponsors of the proposed increases “It has everything to do with maintaining our state for the citizens of our state.” 

As a companion to the proposed revenue increases, there’s another measure that would increase the prevailing wage rate contract threshold amount from $100,000 to $500,000 for new construction. HB 145 would also increase the prevailing wage threshold for repairs and renovations from $15,000 to $45,000. 

And although it hasn’t been formally made into a bill, lawmakers are also revisiting the possibility of an increase in the gas tax. Schwarzkopf said many residents in his district have had a change of heart on increasing that tax.