Since March 2006 over 45,600 professional license holders have been offered “E-Licensing” options for the renewal of over 100 different license types in 20 different licensing categories.
PROVIDENCE—The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training Director Adelita S. Orefice and the Governor's Fiscal Fitness program have announced that eight trade license categories—including telecommunications, electrical, plumbing and hoisting trades—are now available for online renewals. A total of 86 specific DLT-administered licenses will be available for online renewals within the eight licensing categories. A complete list of professional licenses available for “E-licensing” of online renewals can be found on the RI Licensing Web page: www.RI.gov/Licensing.
“DLT should really be commended for the excellent work their staff accomplished to get this system in place,” said Dan Majcher, Program Director of the Fiscal Fitness Program, which initially proposed and has worked to initiate electronic licensing statewide. “DLT knew from the beginning how important this would be for license holders as well as for their own internal efficiency. Because of their hard work we’re very pleased to see more state license holders have a convenient option in renewing their professional licenses.”
Both the Department of Labor and Training and Fiscal Fitness will announce the details of these latest licensure options tomorrow at 1 PM at the Cranston offices of DLT, in Conference Room 73-1, at the main entrance of the building.
“In addition to launching the online renewal service, our department has upgraded our internal processes to allow for a much quicker turn-around time for license card mailing,” said Kathy Serrecchia, Assistant Director of the Workforce Regulation and Safety Division of the Department of Labor and Training. “Time and cost savings will be realized on both sides. It’s a win-win for both the agency and the business community.”
Serrecchia explains that license holders can log-in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by using the last four digits of their social security number and date of birth. The entire renewal process, including payment, is designed to take less than 10 minutes. The user will receive an electronic confirmation as the renewal request is sent to the DLT Division of Professional Regulation for fulfillment. Once approved, the renewed license will be mailed to complete the transaction. DLT licenses are renewed annually on the month of the licensee’s date of birth. Renewals after the expiration date may be completed online with a $12 fee will be assessed for each month overdue.
“We’re excited with the efforts of the Department of Labor & Training, the Division of Information Technology, and other participating offices and agencies to eliminate the need to use paper forms,” said Fiscal Fitness’s Majcher. “This is a big step forward in our efforts to streamline government operations and improve the delivery of state services to Rhode Island taxpayers without adding any significant expense to the process.”
E-licensing is an initiative driven by Governor Donald Carcieri’s Fiscal Fitness Program to provide business-friendly technology that will offer better services, improve internal government processes, reduce paperwork, and the costs associated with the manual renewal process. A variety of professional licenses have been identified according to complexity and annual renewal dates as part of the E-licensing program. Several agencies will work with the Fiscal Fitness Program, the Department of Administration’s Division of Information Technology and RI.gov to provide an expanding array of online license renewals.