The county is advising applicants for new driver’s licenses as well as state identification cards that they may encounter delays for the next week or so.

A new state law requires that beginning Jan. 1, Hawaii’s counties are responsible for issuing the identification cards. That duty was previously handled by the office of the state Attorney General.

The county is adding staff to its driver’s license offices in Hilo and Kona to handle the increase in traffic. Because longer lines are expected at those offices, the county is asking that applicants delay their transactions until after Jan. 8 if possible to ease the transition.

The state identification cards are provided for residents and authorized temporary residents in lieu of a driver’s license.

The minimum age for a state ID is 10 years old. For the first time renewals of existing ID cards may be made by mail for citizens 80 years of age or older.

Documentation requirements for a state identification card are similar to those for a driver’s license and include  proof of legal name, date of birth, social security number, legal presence and proof of principal residence address.

The Hilo office is located at the Hilo Police Station at 349 Kapiolani St., and the Kona office at the West Hawaii Civic Center at 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy. The phone numbers are 961-2222 and 323-4800, respectively. They can also be contacted via email at vehiclerl@co.hawaii.hi.us.