i got the renewal reminder in the mail in july 2010 sometime. my permit had an expiration date of 1-9-2011. i forgot about the renewal, and sent if off right before christmas. a week after i submitted the 50 bucks and the renewal form, i received the extension letter in the mail.
i came back from a week out on the road (i am a truck driver) last night, and the new permit was in the mailbox, 2 days before the old one was set to expire.
i guess what i am saying is if you need to renew, they seem to be getting it done fairly quickly right now. i never had to call them to check on the status. it just showed up in the mail.
the government actually did something within a reasonable amount of time................go figure.
edit: even though the new permit was in the mail on the the 7th, i just noticed that it has the same month and day of expiration as the old one, jan 9th, just 4 more years from tomorrow.