Virginia is extending the expiration dates of E-Z Passes because of the pandemic.

The commonwealth is one of two states (New Hampshire is the other) that deactivates drivers' passes and closes their accounts after a year of inactivity. This is due to the requirements of the state's unclaimed property regulations. With routines upended, many commuters would likely see their passes approach expiration come mid-March.

But now, drivers have until the summer to avoid losing their pass's functionality. The Virginia Treasury Department has given the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) a one-time, six-month moratorium on the deactivation rule because of the pandemic.

VDOT, which administers the passes, emails drivers before deactivation. Last week, a Reddit user posted a message they received encouraging them to use their E-Z Pass, login to their account or call to keep their account active. Those emails are on hold now that the expiration dates have been pushed back.

"E-Z Pass will resume sending inactive account notifications in mid-summer 2021," David Caudill, VDOT's division administrator for tolling operations, said in an email.

But, Caudill adds, if you've already received a warning, you need to act.

"Those customers who have already received an inactive account notice will still have their accounts closed if they do not take action within 30 days of receiving the notification; those customers need to follow the instructions on the notice."

That's not a very big hurdle, if the email doesn't get buried in your inbox. As this reporter found out in 2018, it can be a big headache if you miss the message. One man was mailed an invoice for a higher "pay by plate" toll rate because he missed the email about the deactivation.

Of course, the worries over lost passes will be moot if drivers return to commuting, or simply log into their accounts sometime this summer. But who knows where we (and the pandemic) will be by then? Maybe we'll all be back in the office and out on the roads. Or maybe not. It might be a good idea to put a calendar reminder to log into your E-Z Pass account around mid-September, just in case.

This story is from DCist.com, the local news website of WAMU.

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