The DMV office in the Harrietstown Town Hall, which has been closed for nearly two years, will reopen on April 6. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

SARANAC LAKE — After two years of its doors being closed, the Department of Motor Vehicles office in the Harrietstown Town Hall will reopen on April 6.

Drivers and drivers-to-be will be able to apply for drivers licenses and permits; register cars, motorcycle boats, campers and snowmobiles; and handle lapses in their insurance in the south end of Franklin County again, county Clerk Kip Cassavaw said.

The Saranac Lake DMV office closed on March 16, 2020 as the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic swept through the North Country. It’s remained closed ever since then because of the pandemic.

For two years, local motorists have traveled to Malone, or to North Elba or Elizabethtown in Essex County, to do their DMV business. Cassavaw also said the county has handled some things by mail and the state DMV has increased what can be done on its website, but that has been limited.

Cassavaw said he chose to reopen the Saranac Lake branch now because the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalization in the area have dropped. He feels things have slowed down enough to feel comfortable staffing the office.

“It’s such a small office,” he said. “It’s about the size of a big closet.”

Cassavaw said the office will be open only on Wednesdays at first, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. He hopes to expand its hours in the future. But the county is short several DMV employees. The two people who will be staffing the Saranac Lake office when it opens will travel from Malone, he said.

Cassavaw said he’s “always looking for employees” and especially ones local to the south end now that the Saranac Lake office is reopened. The Franklin County DMVs had vacancies he wants to fill. Applicants will need to complete a civil service exam.

Cassavaw said this exam is part of what makes hiring hard. He also acknowledged, with a laugh, the bad reputation the DMV has in the public psyche.

There may be long lines when the DMV reopens on April 6.

“Two years is a long time,” Cassavaw said.

He said showing up earlier rather than later may be a good idea.