Sky Schaudt/KJZZ

An Arizona Motor Vehicle Division office in north Phoenix on Nov. 25, 2016.

The Arizona Motor Vehicle Division will shut down beginning this weekend to conduct a technology upgrade.

The outage was planned long before the current COVID-19 situation, spokesman Doug Nick said Monday.

“The computer system that operates MVD has elements that go back 35-plus years,” he said. “Obviously that’s a very long time in the IT world and we have been planning for about five years now to replace this system. ServiceArizona will be shut down. All the MVD offices will be shut down for the weekend and two days beyond.”  

The new computer system will allow customers to perform more transactions online, reducing the need for in-person visits to MVD offices. It also will give Arizonans access to a free, secure MVD account, which should simplify access to driving and vehicle information.

Nick said the system will be offline beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday and is expected to last through next Tuesday, barring unforeseen snags.

For those worried about getting a REAL ID card, the deadline for doing so was pushed forward to October of next year by the federal government due to the coronavirus outbreak.