JOHN DAY — After months of sharply reduced hours of operation, Grant County’s only DMV office will once again be open five days a week starting next month.

The office at 193 N. Canyon Blvd. in John Day will return to normal service hours starting May 1, Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services announced.

Hours of operation will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays. The office will continue to close from 12:30 to 2 p.m. each day for lunch.

The office cut back to two days a week starting Nov. 13 due to staffing shortages. Until recently, according to DMV officials, there were no permanent employees assigned to the John Day office.

To maintain a minimum level of services in Grant County, employees from other DMV offices in Burns and elsewhere had been coming over to staff the John Day office on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“It’s just kind of a statewide issue,” DMV spokesperson Michelle Godfrey told the Eagle last fall. “We’re short-staffed all over. … We have to reduce hours sometimes to accommodate that.”

Now, almost six months later, the John Day office has enough trained workers to resume full-time operations.

Even with the restoration of normal operating hours in John Day, many common transactions handled by the DMV — such as renewing your registration or reporting the sale of a vehicle — can be taken care of online, and appointments can be made for some in-person transactions to save time.

To find out more, visit DMV2U.oregon.gov.