A computer problem in Lansing stopped transactions at Secretary of State office across the state, including northern Michigan.
Service was restored to the 131 branches around 4:00 p.m. Thursday. As a result of the problem, SOS branches will offer extended hours Friday, Saturday and Monday.
Officials warn it will take some time to address the backlog created during the outage, which suspended operations at branches part of Monday, part of Wednesday and nearly all of Thursday.
The problem occurred in the state of Michigan's computer system, impacting departments across the state, including Corrections, the Treasury and the Department of Human Services.
To assist customers, all Michigan Secretary of State branch offices will stay open later on Friday, Saturday and Monday:
· Friday, May 20 - All branch offices will be open two hours later, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
· Saturday, May 21 - The department's seven SUPER!Centers will be open an extra two hours, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
· Monday, May 23 - All branches will be open two hours later, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In addition, the Secretary of State's office announced that late fees will be waived for affected customers coming into the branches through the end of business on Friday, May 27th.
"We understand that this has been an inconvenience to our customers and we want to do everything we can to assist them," said spokesman Randall Thompson. "Unfortunately, it will take some time for us to recover once the system is up. Our offices handle 80,000 transactions a day."
The Secretary of State's Office has also alerted law enforcement authorities that some customers were unable to renew their vehicle tabs or driver's licenses during the computer outage.
More details can be found on the Secretary of State's website which can be found by CLICKING HERE.
