News-Record.com

Residents of High Point and Thomasville could spend months without access to vehicle license tag offices in their cities after a criminal investigation shut down two contract agencies last week.

Law enforcement authorities are investigating possible criminal activities at the license tag offices. The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles permanently closed the High Point and Thomasville offices Friday morning.

The offices, under contract through the DMV, were operated by a wife and husband -- Judith D. Hancock for the High Point office, Danny Michael Hancock in Thomasville.

The DMV will have to go through the state contract and bidding process to award and open new offices in High Point and Thomasville, said agency spokeswoman Marge Howell in Raleigh.

"We try to do that as quickly as possible," she said Monday.

The state will have to advertise for bids from people interested in running a High Point or Thomasville license tag office, she said. Usually the state provides 30 days for applications to be submitted.

"Once they advertise, that's at least a month. Then I would say it would take at least that much time to make a decision," Howell said.

Meanwhile, High Point and Thomasville residents are having to use other license tag offices, the closest locations being one in Lexington and two in Greensboro. Last year, the High Point licence plate office handled 129,478 transactions, while the Thomasville plate agency had 109,655, according to DMV figures.