Driver’s license costs vary by efficiency

County Treasurers' Offices are more efficient at issuing driver's licenses than the Iowa Department of Transportation, according to a report released Monday by the State Auditor's Office.

The average cost per card issued by the DOT is $11.70 and the average cost per card issued by a County Treasurer is $10.20. Of Iowa's 99 counties, 81 are serviced by Treasurer's Offices and 18 by DOT stations.

Cost per card ranges from $5.12 in Wayne County to $22.97 in Winnebago County. Johnson County has the second most efficient DOT station, where cost per card is $8.32.

The point of the report was to help the State Legislature decide how to reimburse County Treasurers' Offices for their work issuing driver's licenses. Cost variation was caused by the number of more expensive commercial driver's licenses a station or Treasurer's Office issued, and by volume. Where lots of driver's licenses were issued, costs were lower.