When the Marshall driver’s exam station moves to a new location on West College Drive, it will also open up more chances to conduct vehicle inspections. Driver and Vehicle Services plans to add a vehicle lift in shop space at the new location, and offer inspection appointments five days a week, said assistant regional exam supervisor Alex Scarset.

MARSHALL — When the driver’s license exam and vehicle inspection stations in Marshall move to a new address this week, it will mean some important changes for customers, Alex Scarset said. The move will make it possible to schedule vehicle inspections five days a week, instead of only once a month.

“It’ll make a huge impact. Vehicle inspection appointments, they fill up pretty quickly,” said Scarset, assistant regional exam supervisor with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Driver and Vehicle Services division.

Last week, Marshall staff announced that the driver’s license exam station would be moving from its current office on North U.S. Highway 59, to a new location at 750 West College Drive. The new facility is a former office of the Minnesota Lottery. The state lottery closed its regional office in Marshall in March, and the building has been vacant since then.

When the former lottery office became available, it opened up a unique opportunity for DVS, Scarset said. The building not only had office space, but an attached shop building in the back where vehicle inspections could be done.

“When we looked at it, the program director thought it would be a good fit,” Scarset said. “It’s hard to find a building that can have a car lift and office space at the same time.”

In addition to providing services like driver’s exams and licenses, DVS also inspects vehicles that have been salvaged, or rebuilt after a wreck, Scarset said. Until now, vehicle inspections were only able to be scheduled in Marshall one day a month, at Breyfogle Auto. However, with the shop space at the old lottery office, inspections could be done more often.

Scarset said DVS plans to hire two full-time staff, and expand the vehicle inspection schedule to five days a week. He said two driving examiners at the Marshall station had applied for inspector positions.

The Marshall exam station currently has three examiners and a part-time clerk, Scarset said.

Moving into the former lottery office and shop will mean some renovations, but not extensive ones, Scarset said. A lift will be added to the shop space, to help with vehicle inspections.

Monday was the last day that the current Marshall exam station was open to the public. The actual move would start Tuesday, and the new office will open Dec. 4.

“We’re all excited. Change is always exciting,” Scarset said.

Vehicle inspection appointments at the new Marshall location aren’t open yet, Scarset said Monday. DVS will need to go through the hiring process for inspectors first.

Consolidating driver exam and vehicle inspection services into one location is something new in Minnesota, Scarset said. While there are full-time vehicle inspection sites in St. Cloud and St. Paul, they’re at separate locations from exam stations, he said.

“I think this will be the first all-in-one,” Scarset said.