This podcast is a visit with Brazos County tax assessor-collector Kristy Roe and WTAW's Bill Oliver.

Those who have taken advantage of not renewing outdated Texas vehicle registration and/or drivers licenses due to the pandemic, those grace periods end on Wednesday.

Brazos County tax assessor collector Kristy Roe says there was a projected 7,400 vehicles that may still have outstanding registrations to be renewed.

Roe says the tax office lobby has been standing room only and the wait in the drive thru line has been up to one hour.

Roe says mailing a registration renewal now will not meet the state's deadline of having the transaction completed by the end of the day on Wednesday.

Another reason for delays at the tax office is hat the deadline to transfer the ownership of a vehicle purchased during this time frame is also April 14. The majority of the customers we currently see at the tax office involve title transfers. These customers risk penalties immediately on the 15th if the transaction is more than 30 days old. Title transactions are complicated and time consuming. Many applicants do not have all of the documents they need.

Roe also says online registration renewal is currently available for up to nine months past their registration expiration date. So if they fall within that window, and have a passing inspection that can be verified online, that could be an option for them. It will take about a week to get their sticker, but they will get in under the deadline.

Registration renewal customers risk penalties if they have received a citation, which depending on the law enforcement agencies, can resume April 15.

Residents that have registrations that do not expire before the end of April are being asked to wait until after Wednesday if they want to come to the tax office. Otherwise, they can renew online, at the subcontractor locations (Kroger, HEB), mail or drop the registration renewals off.

And the grace period to renew out of date Texas drivers licenses also ends Wednesday.