New Self-service Stations Offer Customer Transactions in English, Spanish or Arabic

LANSING – The new, dependable and easy-to-use self-service stations being installed across the state to replace old, unreliable and frequently malfunctioning Secretary of State kiosks offer another technological advantage: the option for customers to complete their transactions in English, Spanish or Arabic.

The new self-service stations, 60 of which have been installed since Oct. 27, were initially programmed for English and Spanish. They received a software update Dec. 13 that added the Arabic language option. To date, more than 75,000 registration renewal transactions have been completed in English, more than 450 in Spanish and more than 70 in Arabic.

“We are committed to improving customer experience for everyone who interacts with our department,” said Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. “We’ve heard the call from communities for better language access, and plan to continue translating additional documents in the future.”

Since Secretary Benson took office, the department has taken steps to make more translations available. Documents now offered in Spanish and Arabic include:
Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission application
Driver’s license and ID card application
Driver’s license and ID requirements checklist

Foreign language-speaking community representatives with suggestions on additional documents that would be helpful to translate can contact the Office of Communications at 517-335-3264 or SOS-News@Michigan.gov.

The self-service station upgrade project is replacing all 93 of the department’s outmoded kiosks by the end of January and adding 57 more, for a total of 150, by the end of April. In addition to Secretary of State branch offices, many of the new stations will be in grocery stores such as Kroger and Meijer, meeting customers where they already are doing business. Customers can find an up-to-date list of locations at Michigan.gov/SOSSelfService.