For too many Texans renewing, replacing or getting their first driver’s license, the process is a bureaucratic nightmare. Average booking times range from 40 to 180 days, without counting the time you spend at the driver’s license office.

This is why we welcome a novel idea from the Department of Public Safety that will allow virtual appointments. This will not only help customers get their documents faster, but it will also help the agency get around staffing shortages, which are worse in metropolitan areas like Dallas, our colleague Amber Gaudet reported.

How will virtual appointments work? A customer would book the online appointment and then upload the required documents ahead of time. During the virtual meeting, a DPS employee, who could be anywhere in Texas, will review the documentation and take the driver’s photo if needed.

Many Texans are already using telehealth services to meet their physicians in a virtual setting, and many of us have office meetings in online conference rooms. Renewing a driver’s license remotely makes sense.

But DPS’ pitch goes even further. Noncommercial drivers could take their road test virtually. This will require road and driver-facing cameras and the help of a passenger to act as a proctor. We are more skeptical about this. But as technology continues to evolve, assessing driving skills without being in the car might be feasible in the near future.

DPS has been struggling for years with wait times for driver’s license processing.

In 2018, The News reported that people waited up to eight hours, sometimes outdoors and in extreme weather. Back then, the online system was not as efficient, but now the problem is waiting for an appointment. Good luck if you are in Plano, where a renewal or replacement appointment can take up to 64 days.

With tens of thousands moving to Texas each month, DPS has had difficulty keeping up with the demand.

DPS is asking the Legislature to invest $22 million over the next five years in the system. About 40% of Texans have to be in person to get their updated license. This includes first-timers and noncitizens, but also those who have renewed online previously.

This is a sensible investment, but lawmakers should also consider security enhancements to avoid cybersecurity threats like the 2023 breach in which criminals illegally obtained thousands of licenses.

It is commendable that DPS is looking for practical solutions to a problem that has frustrated Texans for too long. Legislature, take the wheel.

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