New Castle County Vets Contractor License Renewals in Half the Time

SimpliGov Digital Form and Workflow Created and Activated in Five Days during COVID-19 Crisis.

New Castle County’s Department of Land Use is responsible for providing services, enforcing regulations, and vetting contractor license applications for residential and commercial buildings and construction. As Delaware’s most populous county, the department works with thousands of contractors and subcontractors to ensure that companies and individuals have valid credentials, adequate insurance, and good financial standing before renewing their licenses to work in New Castle County each year.

Challenge

  • In-person, manual license renewals weren’t an option during the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Little time to waste in erecting a new digital process at the busiest time of year for renewals
  • Transition from license renewal to payment process wasn’t seamless
  • No centralized way to track status of applications; staff handled heavy call volume from constituents

Solution

  • Digital application form explained required data and documentation clearly and concisely 
  • Applicants completed and submitted applications remotely
  • Intuitive portal enabled easy upload of vital insurance and state business license information
  • Workflow automation simplified and expedited submission-review-payment process

Results

  • 50% reduction in application processing time
  • 70% fewer status inquiries from applicants
  • Solution implemented in five days
  • County saved thousands of dollars in overtime compensation
New Castle County workflow automation digital forms esignature
Population

575,494

Use Case

License Renewals

Department

Land Use

Municipality

County