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Plastic will soon be an option at clerk and recorder's office

Plastic will soon be an option at clerk and recorder's office

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THE GAZETTE

Have only plastic in your wallet but need a marriage license or plates for your car?  

If you’re willing to cough up a little more money, you’ll soon be able to use a credit or debit card to pay for these and other services of the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder.

The El Paso County Commission on Tuesday approved Clerk and Recorder Wayne Williams’ request to update the payment system for fees associated with the office, beginning in mid-April. That will make the local office the first major clerk and recorder office in Colorado to accept credit cards for all transactions.

“We’re dead last now, in terms of methods of payment among the top 10 Front Range counties,” Williams said. “This proposal takes us to No. 1 and enables us to enhance customer service and give customers the most options.”

Since 2007, the clerk and recorder’s office has accepted credit card charges for purchases made via the Internet. In a few weeks, the office will accept credit and debit cards, as well as electronic checks, at all locations, by phone and online.

Williams said only 17 percent of all motor vehicle registrations in the county are renewed over the Internet, and his office has had many calls requesting more payment options.

Customers using plastic, though, will be charged a 2.7 percent fee, Williams said, because state law does not allow his office to absorb costs associated with credit and debit card usage, so they must be passed on.

On a $100 transaction, for example, a customer will pay $102.70. Williams said the surcharge will not apply to purchases under $10. And a $1 fee will be added to transactions using electronic checks.

To avoid the fees, customers still will be able to pay with cash or a traditional check.