INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is blaming staffing shortages for a decision to shut down 11 license branches around the state for at least the next four weeks.

The closures began Tuesday and are scheduled to last through Oct. 2. The action was needed to reallocate workers to the agency’s 118 other branches, BMV spokeswoman Christine Meyer said.

About 12% of BMV branch jobs haven’t been staffed on a daily basis because they are unfilled or the worker is out because of COVID-19 precautions, Meyer said.

The branches temporarily closed are in Alexandria, Danville, Evansville, Indianapolis, Greenfield, Nappanee, New Albany, New Haven, Pendleton, Schererville and Walkerton.

Available workers from those offices are being moved to larger or centrally located branches to maintain customer service at those locations, Meyer said.