Notaries around the county are back in business and helping residents who are finally permitted to purchase cars with securing their titles, which they couldn't do during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown ordered by Gov. Tom Wolf.

But some have had to turn customers away because their stock of license plates is depleted.

The issue arose, according to various local notaries public, because the state's Department of Transportation is not yet allowing notaries to order license plates via their messenger services and have them delivered by courier as usual.

That process has plates in the hands of notary shops in about two days.

Now, notaries must send in their license plate orders by mail, and delivery of a shipment takes from 10 days to three weeks.

Dave Harkins, owner of Campbell's Notary Service in Center Township, has a few truck plates and recently received a shipment of trailer plates from PennDOT, but is out of license plates for cars.

He sent his order for trailer plates by overnight mail in an effort to speed up the process, but received the plates 10 days later.

Harkins has ordered car and truck license plates and his check has been cashed, so he is now awaiting their arrival.

“It's just a slow period,” he said. “You have to remember, all the delivery services are swamped too.”

Harkins tells customers when they call his shop that car plates are currently unavailable.

“I did have a woman in here last night who had been to four places and couldn't get a plate,” Harkins said.

When Harkins opened his service on the day the county entered the yellow phase of reopening three weeks ago, he had a good stock of car license plates.

“I didn't realize I should have ordered them sooner,” Harkins said.

A large part of his business is titling vehicles, boats and trailers, so he hopes he can return to the former order method that supplies plates in two days' time.

“That's pretty much what we do,” Harkins said.

Deborah Stout, a notary public at A Notary in Butler Township, received her shipment of license plates on the day Wolf announced the shutdown.

As of Thursday afternoon, Stout had 40 each of car and truck plates, 35 motorcycle plates and 20 trailer plates.

“Other notaries are sending people to me,” Stout said. “It was just luck.”

When she realized how long it would take to get another shipment, Stout placed another order.

She said Pennsylvania does not offer temporary plates that drivers can use in such circumstances.

Chris Young, general manager at Cranberry Messenger Service in Cranberry Township, had 120 car plates when she ordered another shipment of 200 on May 19.

She ran out Thursday.

“I'm hoping the order is here any day,” Young said.

Many local drivers in the market for a vehicle took advantage of the huge incentives on interest and rebates that Young said were offered during the shutdown by many car dealers in Ohio and other neighboring states.

A driver who bought a car in Ohio could drive using the temporary plate they received in that state while Butler County dealers and notaries remained closed.

“Now that (notaries) are open, people do have to get their Pa. plates,” she said.

Young said her business is sustained by title transfers and other tasks, but should be back to normal in the coming days when the car plates arrive.

Young just mailed an order for truck and trailer plates, on which she is running low.

“I understand PennDOT's view, too,” she said. “They are trying to keep things safe on their end, but there has to be a better way.”

Carrie Bedillion, the notary at Miller Phillips Insurance in Saxonburg, said Thursday that she ordered plates while her business was under the shutdown order just because she needed them.

Thanks to that decision, Bedillion has license plates for all vehicles and is not in short supply in any category.

She also ordered another shipment, which is on the way.

“Lots of customers are saying they can't get them anywhere else,” Bedillion said.

PennDOT officials were not able to offer complete details for this report by Friday afternoon.