DMV

[bcla]

Ours is like this also. It used to be horrible, but now that you make appointments its so much better.
Adding, our license tabs are renewed online. So except for drivers license renewals every four years, and when we had to title a camper a couple of years ago, we almost never go in.

At least for me, when I had to go to the DMV office recently it was far less painful than it used to be. Appointments certainly help, but I haven't made an appointment in a while. That my state really encourages people to use online or mail-in renewal services (and often imply that these are the only renewal options) has reduced the number of walk-ins to a manageable level.

What really made it painful in the recent years was the impending Real ID requirements, which required an in-person visit to present documents. Appointments were way in the future and there were reports of walk-in wait times of maybe 3-6 hours. It's not so bad now that people have gotten that out of the way.

 

[Jodo98]

mine are so bad the police dept is doing an operation to stop people from selling appointments. Group of individuals are making appoints and selling them so people cant get appointments easily. They also dont like taking walk ins so its a disaster.

 

[bcla]

I live in a large state, but theoretically residents can use any location. Once I lost my driver license and needed a replacement, where I had my dad drive me to the office. The soonest appointment was the next morning at a place that was a 25 minute drive from home.

 

[Uncle Coaster]

My DMV only accepts appointments for taking the exam. Every other service is walk in only. Injustice had a rough go spouting for a Real ID but it was partially my fault.

The local DMV is only open Friday and Saturday, which is fine because I didn’t want to talk time off from work. I went on a Saturday a month ago but it was closed for Presidents Day. No word on their website so I left. Went two weeks later on a Saturday and find out thru don’t process Real ID applications on Saturdays…only Fridays. I should have realized that. The website said the exam center was closed on Saturday’s but I incorrectly assumed that was literally just for exams.

So I went back last Friday after taking the day off. Take a number on the exam side and that goes fairly quickly. They give me a picture card and tell me to take a number on the photo processing side. That slowed me down.

When all was said and done I accomplished what I wanted but was there for a little over two hours.

 

[kdonnel]

Just renewed my driver's license online. Took 5 minutes and I got a $5 discount for doing it online.

As long as your license is in good standing you can renew online. Even once the 64 and up vision requirement kicks in you can still renew online by submitting a vision report form that has been filled out by your optometrist or ophthalmologist.

The state makes it easy.

 

[wvjules]

No one got my DMV reference? No one from DC, Maryland or Virginia in here?

 

[soccerdad72]

No one got my DMV reference? No one from DC, Maryland or Virginia in here?

Not from the area, but I did get the reference.

 

[tvguy]

Friend just posted that he went to his DMV appointment and found out when he got to the counter that he could not get what he needed done because "the system is down". How does a state agency not have a mirror Buddy server (backup server) for when the main server goes off line? Every company I worked for had a Buddy server. Usually slower, but we could still work.

 

[bcla]

Ours is like this also. It used to be horrible, but now that you make appointments its so much better.
Adding, our license tabs are renewed online. So except for drivers license renewals every four years, and when we had to title a camper a couple of years ago, we almost never go in.

I do remember when California DMV renewals/return envelopes had some message to save gas by renewing by mail. But these days they don’t even include a return envelope.

I do remember a real mess up once. I made an appointment to renew and present the required documents for Real ID. My local office had Saturday hours at the time and I got an appointment for the Saturday after Thanksgiving at about opening. Everything looked good, including a confirmation email and text message. Got there with a line including walk ins and appointments. But nobody seemed to be waiting in the office to open. Then I looked up the California DMV website and right on the main page was a message that all offices would be closed for the entire Thanksgiving weekend and would reopen on Monday. But there was no sign posted on the door or window that they would be closed. I showed it to a few people in line and some left. Not sure why anyone stayed.

I ended up going later that week and waited about 3 hours as a walk in.

 

[tvguy]

I do remember when California DMV renewals/return envelopes had some message to save gas by renewing by mail. But these days they don’t even include a return envelope.

I do remember a real mess up once. I made an appointment to renew and present the required documents for Real ID. My local office had Saturday hours at the time and I got an appointment for the Saturday after Thanksgiving at about opening. Everything looked good, including a confirmation email and text message. Got there with a line including walk ins and appointments. But nobody seemed to be waiting in the office to open. Then I looked up the California DMV website and right on the main page was a message that all offices would be closed for the entire Thanksgiving weekend and would reopen on Monday. But there was no sign posted on the door or window that they would be closed. I showed it to a few people in line and some left. Not sure why anyone stayed.

I ended up going later that week and waited about 3 hours as a walk in.

I live walking distance from a DMV office. When I got my Real ID 5 years ago, I tried to get a Real ID appointment three months before my license expired at that office. It was booked solid past then. Ended up at another office.

 

[bcla]

I live walking distance from a DMV office. When I got my Real ID 5 years ago, I tried to get a Real ID appointment three months before my license expired at that office. It was booked solid past then. Ended up at another office.

I've heard some recommendations of just going to a DMV office in some random location if one just happened to be nearby. I remember someone mentioning Bishop. There are these remote locations where there's a DMV office just for geographical convenience even though there's very little population (Inyo County has less than 20,000 residents).

I mentioned weird locations to. I remember when I was working a job near Folsom I encountered their office in a strip mall.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/field-office/folsom/

Pleasanton actually has two DMV offices, including one in an indoor mall.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/es/field-office/pleasanton-stoneridge/

 

[tvguy]

I've heard some recommendations of just going to a DMV office in some random location if one just happened to be nearby. I remember someone mentioning Bishop. There are these remote locations where there's a DMV office just for geographical convenience even though there's very little population (Inyo County has less than 20,000 residents).

I mentioned weird locations to. I remember when I was working a job near Folsom I encountered their office in a strip mall.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/field-office/folsom/

Pleasanton actually has two DMV offices, including one in an indoor mall.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/es/field-office/pleasanton-stoneridge/

Folsom was the office I went to for my Real ID. Even with an appointment, it wasn't as fast a process as I expected, and finding that office was an adventure. I live in Carmichael, and I am finding especially with Doctors, the Carmichael locations have very limited hours or have closed. I hate hate hate having to go to Folsom or Roseville or Downtown Sacramento. I picked my Cardiologist based on him having an office in Carmichael. But NOW I find out he is only in that office 4 hours a month. So I had to go to Roseville to see him, or Downtown Sacramento. The tech laughed when he tried to get me a Carmichael appointment. All of 2025 is already booked, Roseville and Downtown have lots of appointments. The tech said clearly they need to have more hours in Carmichael based on demand.

 

[wvjules]

How was your trip to the DMV?

Not from the area, but I did get the reference.

Was the Enola Gay still there?

 

[soccerdad72]

How was your trip to the DMV?

Was the Enola Gay still there?

The trip was great - we saw so much and really enjoyed our time with our friends in Old Town. Unfortunately, there was no way to know about the Enola Gay. That whole half of the museum is closed for renovation. Part opens this summer, part in summer of 2026. An excuse to return, I guess

 

[wvjules]

The trip was great - we saw so much and really enjoyed our time with our friends in Old Town. Unfortunately, there was no way to know about the Enola Gay. That whole half of the museum is closed for renovation. Part opens this summer, part in summer of 2026. An excuse to return, I guess

One of my favorite restaurants is in Old Town. Landini Brothers. Yum!

 

[RangerPooh]

The ones in our county (in TN) and the neighboring county are horrible. You’re encouraged to make an appointment online, but spots are booked weeks out. If you go in person it’s an entire day event. Employees are often rude. We started driving to one two counties away for our appts. Here the vehicle tag registration is a separate location than licensing/exams. Both have horrendous waits. For tag renewals we get there 1.5 hours before opening, and we’re usually within the first 10 in line.

Growing up in CA the DMV in my county and neighboring were just as bad. You’d be there at minimum an hour before opening. There were times when I drove to a small county DMV 3 hours away for quicker service, like in/out 15 minutes.

Where we lived in rural WA it wasn’t bad, in/out within 15 minutes. It just depends on the community; rural vs metro.

 

[Magical2017]

Not like it was 20 years ago. Technology has made it much more efficient. We also have some limited service locations. Unless you are taking a driving test, you can use these for pretty much everything else.

 

[bcla]

With the Real ID deadline approaching, California DMV offices are getting swamped with people who want to convert their driver licenses and non-DL IDs. Quite a few offices have no available appointments before the Real ID deadline.

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/havent-gotten-california-real-id-yet-20263325.php​

On May 7, the Department of Homeland Security begins enforcement for new Real ID standards. With four weeks left to go, the DMV told SFGATE that the department is experiencing “an anticipated increase” of people as the deadline approaches. On the DMV website to schedule an appointment in San Francisco, there are no time slots available before the deadline.​

​

“The DMV is seeing an increase in customers upgrading to a REAL ID across the Bay Area region, particularly at San Jose, Santa Clara, Oakland, San Francisco and Daly City offices,” Katarina Snow, a DMV information officer, told SFGATE in an email. She added that the DMV is monitoring the situation and will “make adjustments to appointment availability, as needed.”​

 

[Kennywood]

As long as you have all of your documentation ready and you are patient, it's not bad at all. The problems come when people expect immediate service or react poorly when told that they need paperwork which they didn't bring.

A lot of things can be done online now, so that helps cut down on the possible aggravation. Some DMV's even have remote kiosks around towns.

When visiting your DMV, begin your interaction with the employee who's helping you with a smile and pleasant tone. When people sit down across from them, the employee's probably expecting a problem. The employees who work there may be viewed as mindless, government drones, but they're people too. The Golden Rule is a good thing to remember at the DMV.

 

[mjkacmom]

As long as you have all of your documentation ready and you are patient, it's not bad at all. The problems come when people expect immediate service or react poorly when told that they need paperwork which they didn't bring.

A lot of things can be done online now, so that helps cut down on the possible aggravation. Some DMV's even have remote kiosks around towns.

When visiting your DMV, begin your interaction with the employee who's helping you with a smile and pleasant tone. When people sit down across from them, the employee's probably expecting a problem. The employees who work there may be viewed as mindless, government drones, but they're people too. The Golden Rule is a good thing to remember at the DMV.

Keep in mind it depends on your state and even where you live in that state. People do gets antsy waiting for hours, dealing with surly employees, and a bunch of miserable patrons. Folks here are starting to lose it because it’s really impossible to get real ID appointments before May 7th. Yes they had time but those appointments have never been able to be found easily here. You can find an appointment only if your license expires within 3 months, otherwise there are no appointments available in NJ.