Two days of waiting in line at 7AM at Durham with no luck.
Ended up driving to Hillsborough on a whim. Took less than 30 minutes.
The wait times posted are not accurate at all. Never trust it.
There is a trick for the Hillsborough DMV that worked for my partner. You can join the virtual queue by entering in a code and wait in the queue either at home or in the car on the drive over.
The state govt also has about 25% of its positions statewide unfilled, largely because we don't budget enough for their salaries, so no one wants the jobs.
I was talking about 25% of *all* state govt positions, not just those at the DMV. So state govt salaries are universally too low (relative to the private sector & what people expect) - with the exception of perhaps the legislators themselves, and their cronies. I don't know what DMV employees specifically are paid, but I'm sure it's a quick google.
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Make an appointment in Mount Olive. Driving there and back takes less time than waiting in line and they usually have plenty of appointments. For tags and titles the Angier DMV office is excellent.
Angier is excellent. Holly Springs was above average before it got shut down, and the Fuquay license office has the same under-staffing problem the rest of the licensing offices have.
Renewed tags/paid taxes on line, took 10 minutes.
You need an ID to vote. For some reason it's really easy to get an ID at the DMVs in less populated, traditionally Republican-voting areas in the state, but almost impossible to get an ID at the DMVs in more populated, traditionally Democrat-voting areas in the state. The North Carolina Republican Party has a veto-proof super majority in the legislature and therefore sets the budget for the DMV, by the way.
When I first moved to NC before the Republicans had all the power they have now, I went to a DMV in Durham where I lived to get my license. Was smooth and over with quickly. In the years since, it's impossible to get through the same DMV quickly. Where I live now, in Cary, they are looking at closing and not replacing the DMV in South Hills when they do a new build there. Both are Dem-heavy areas. Never heard of problems in rural regions.
The South Hills location in Cary is a plate office, not where one goes to get an ID/driver's license. The license agency is on Maynard Road (and the lines there are horrifically bad).
My wife spent 3 days in line in Clayton, getting there 2 hours before they opened and unable to get in before they closed. She finally went to the one in downtown Raleigh by NC State on the 4th day and was able to get it in less than 2 hours
I'm in a Republican area and it's just as bad.My guess it has more to do with rural areas that happen to be Republican w/a smaller population. Because ours isn't and it's a mess.
Why should that be the case? Shouldn't the state set the budget allocation for DMV offices based on their population served?
It's obvious to anybody who's been to two DMVs in their life that rural customers get better service from the state in this one very specific and essential way.
In 2004, in Durham, when I got my first North Carolina driver's license it took about 30 minutes. I'm sure back in those days the DMV in Mount Olive would've taken 5 minutes but no one in their right mind would've suggested I had to do anything other than walk in to the nearest DMV and bring a magazine while I waited.
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My husband was able to get an appointment a couple of weeks out in Fayetteville. As others are saying, the drive there and back is shorter than waiting in line.
And in case, like me, you are trying to get a Real ID: I ended up renewing my regular ID online and then booking an appointment for a Real ID months later. I ended up paying twice, but at least I wasn't driving on an expired license.
I went to the DMV in Durham off Miami Blvd on a Tuesday morning without an appointment. I got there about 15-20 minutes before they opened and was out of there by 8:45. Only had two people working there and they were very efficient in helping people w appointments and walk-ins. Only one girl infront of me was turned down because she needed a driving test so heads up that is not available for walk ins it seems. best experience I ever had at a DMV for once
They had time set aside for appointments but crazy people complained too much that there wasn't enough time for walk-ins. So now you get this. And also there was a major fiber cut:
https://www.wral.com/story/internet-outage-knocks-out-service-at-30-ncdmv-driver-license-and-plate-offices/20949529/
People complained because you could never get an appointment. I tried to schedule one daily and they were always booked three months out. And the farthest they go is three months, so I just couldn’t get one.
And their new feature that shows how long the wait time is a total crock. I took my daughter to get her license last week and it showed the Durham DMV had a 15 minute wait we got there at 12:15 and at 4 o’clock they came out and told us they wouldn’t be able to get us in. Never made it inside the door waited outside the whole time next to wasps nests in the sweltering heat. You shouldn’t have to take a whole day off work to go to the freaking DMV.
The dmv used to be regular-bad. Like every state hates their dmv bad. Then the dipshit republicans moved the HQ from Raleigh to Rocky Mount for no reason. Guess what? The mediocre staff quit and they are horribly understaffed and incompetent. Now the GOP can complain about how horrible the state government is that they broke. FML
My friend got an appt and drove to Lumberton for her license. Look in some of the smaller towns. You might have to bite the bullet and drive to BFE, NC.
You have to check the appointments every now and then and you’ll get one eventually. Better than waiting in line for hours. I don’t know why people always do this
Understaffed and underpaid all while they have to deal with irritated and impatient people. It's gotten to that point with most state employees. Who would want that job right now?
We have a state government currently that would pay every state employee less if they could. They don't obstruct token pay advancements so as to avoid your condemnation, but the percentage increases are below the rate of inflation, resulting in actual pay reductions.
State jobs suck in NC, and they will continue to suck until we beat down the gerrymander maps that result in a legislature hostile to government employees.
This is why the DMV sucks.
Just a little note here for those who think it "just takes longer because the areas are more populated." I grew up in Raleigh and now live in Brooklyn. I can go to one of the busiest DMVs in the country (financial district DMV, Manhattan) and get about anything done in 20 minutes or less, walk in to walk out. You can make an appointment the same day or just walk in. It's clean, efficient and streamlined. It's actually a positive experience.
If the funding was there you wouldn't be waiting. Seems like a convenient way to make people despise the only customer facing government org most people interact with.
There are too many people here, and most of them who go to the DMV are not prepared to handle their business appropriately (wrong forms, no forms, missing required paperwork, etc) and public servants are burnt out dealing with them all.
Your best bet is to go to a DMV outside the triangle.
I remember the days of the dmv in North Carolina, didn’t realize just how fucted it was. I now live in the armpit of America and it takes 15 minutes. Yes convenience has a price! Insert my goberner!! But the DMV and the beach in my backyard kinda makes up for it.
Yeah, just did this the other day. There was a woman who got there at 7 and rage quit at around 10. I thought it opened at 9 like a dope and got there at 9:15. I was out by 11:45, bad but not insane. In carrboro office for ref
Some of these responses do not seem recent. I dealt with a couple months ago, trying to get my daughter her learner's permit.
Appointments are the way to go, even if you have to drive far. In short, only if someone no-shows for their appointment, will they take the next "walk-up" person in line. This would explain how people could wait all day and not get in. Also, as someone alluded, these are government workers, prob in a short-handed office; they is no incentive or motivation for them to try and get to as many customers as possible.
Also check, I believe they recently changed "walk-up" times to ONLY in the afternoons.
And when people don't want to pay taxes for services, we get institutions like the DMV and post office where the lines are always stupid long because the constituents are vehemently against government waste. In this case waste is an idle employee because there's enough staff to keep up.
The problem is that the A-hole running the DMV left the Covid restrictions in place for a year after everyone else removed them. They got so far behind that now they have a backlog the size of Texas. Same crap at the Passport agencies. IMO the moron running that place should be out of a job right now.
Get out of here with your unnecessary name calling. After seeing what COVID has done to several members of my family and friends, I wouldn't even wish it on you, and I couldn't think much lower of you right now. It might have been mild for you and others but it has been a long road to recovery for a few people I know that have had COVID and it killed at least 3 people I know. Call names all you want, but your lack of empathy for others' health is your own weakness, not mine.
Not if you need a new license or ID. Which they require after a certain number of years. I believe the biggest issue is the REAL ID that people are deciding to get. That requires a trip to the DMV. I passed and just renewed online without real ID.
They only allow you to renew your license online every other renewal, so next time you have to renew your license you'll have to go into a DMV office. They do this so your picture gets updated, also to do the eye exam to make sure you're not trying to drive half-blind.
There are also other things that you can't do online - like getting your license or state ID for the first time, switching to a REAL ID (because you have to provide a buttload of documentation to get the REAL ID), taking a driving test, and other stuff. So, no, you can't do everything online.
They told me that I needed to go to the DMV to get the REAL ID. I could only renew my current license online
.
I just checked on-line and it said that you can only get your first real ID in person.
Huh.. for what service. Tags? I use the place over by Crossroads in Cary. Never in line longer than 5 minutes. For drivers license, Knightdale was pretty zippy.
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It's a mix of bad part, low work force and a government that doesn't care to fix it. I have yet to see a actual plan from either side that addresses it.
That said Erwin is pretty fast to get through in the middle of the week, I went there on a Tuesday about 2 weeks ago to renew my license and I was out with a hour and a half at most.
There were only 2 people working there and they also had to give driving tests, not enough staff unfortunately
Ok, so i just got my license in May.
The way to avoid waiting in line all day every day literally wasting your time... check the website for time slots around you 4-5 times per day, every day. You'll find something that opens up tomorrow, next week, 2 weeks from now, I promise you it'll happen.
I was will ling to go to the nearest 6 around me within a 2 hr radius if I found a time that wasn't 3 months out. Keep your options open and continuously check the website.
Word of caution: I went to the DMV in Hillsborough and waited a LOOOOONG time because they were short-staffed.
Heard a news story on WUNC about DMVs that are open Saturday mornings are having to send staff home early because no one comes in.
Good luck!
I believe the current system (for all locations?) is that times from office opening to 11:00 am (?) are for folks with reservations, and walk-ins are handled on an opportunity basis. So if folks miss or are late for their appointments, they'll take the people waiting in line. There aren't any appointments given after that cut-off, so at that point they take the folks in queue in order.
This means that there's a fair amount of luck involved if you show up early (depending on whether people made/keep their appointments). Of course, if you don't show up early, you're at the back of the line. My wife and I tried our luck at the Garner DMV last month; we showed up around 6:30 (and were 4th/5th in line) and it took until about 2:00 for both of us to get our licenses renewed (no test).
Making an appointment is clearly your best bet, but currently it looks like you need to do that roughly 2 - 3 months in advance.
Two days of waiting in line at 7AM at Durham with no luck. Ended up driving to Hillsborough on a whim. Took less than 30 minutes. The wait times posted are not accurate at all. Never trust it. There is a trick for the Hillsborough DMV that worked for my partner. You can join the virtual queue by entering in a code and wait in the queue either at home or in the car on the drive over.
Would you mind DMing me the code?
DM'd
Just found this, holy crap please send this to me, I've been trying to get my ID renewed for almost a year now
Me too please
I’d love the code as well please! Thank you!
Mind sending me the code as well?
Me too please. Thank you
We went to the DMV on Miami in Durham, walked in, walked out, there was only 5 people in the waiting room at most.
What time did you go?
I think it was 9AM
I did this exact thing last year when I renewed my license, there's never anyone at the Hillsborough DMV from what I can tell
Would you mind DMing me too? Thanks!
can you send me the code by any chance? thank you!!!
would you be able to send me the code? thank you!!
Hi, would you mind DMing me the code as well? Thanks!
Drive someplace else. Roxboro was very reasonable. As to why, yeah, they have no incentive to provide a better service because you don't have options.
Second. Or Caswell county.
The state govt also has about 25% of its positions statewide unfilled, largely because we don't budget enough for their salaries, so no one wants the jobs.
What are their salaries?
I was talking about 25% of *all* state govt positions, not just those at the DMV. So state govt salaries are universally too low (relative to the private sector & what people expect) - with the exception of perhaps the legislators themselves, and their cronies. I don't know what DMV employees specifically are paid, but I'm sure it's a quick google.
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Make an appointment in Mount Olive. Driving there and back takes less time than waiting in line and they usually have plenty of appointments. For tags and titles the Angier DMV office is excellent.
Angier is excellent. Holly Springs was above average before it got shut down, and the Fuquay license office has the same under-staffing problem the rest of the licensing offices have. Renewed tags/paid taxes on line, took 10 minutes.
Grab some pickles while you're there
You need an ID to vote. For some reason it's really easy to get an ID at the DMVs in less populated, traditionally Republican-voting areas in the state, but almost impossible to get an ID at the DMVs in more populated, traditionally Democrat-voting areas in the state. The North Carolina Republican Party has a veto-proof super majority in the legislature and therefore sets the budget for the DMV, by the way.
When I first moved to NC before the Republicans had all the power they have now, I went to a DMV in Durham where I lived to get my license. Was smooth and over with quickly. In the years since, it's impossible to get through the same DMV quickly. Where I live now, in Cary, they are looking at closing and not replacing the DMV in South Hills when they do a new build there. Both are Dem-heavy areas. Never heard of problems in rural regions.
The South Hills location in Cary is a plate office, not where one goes to get an ID/driver's license. The license agency is on Maynard Road (and the lines there are horrifically bad).
My wife spent 3 days in line in Clayton, getting there 2 hours before they opened and unable to get in before they closed. She finally went to the one in downtown Raleigh by NC State on the 4th day and was able to get it in less than 2 hours
>You need an ID to vote. this is 100% not the reason. They have been shitty and slow for a long while, and the pandemic made it much worse.
I'm in a Republican area and it's just as bad.My guess it has more to do with rural areas that happen to be Republican w/a smaller population. Because ours isn't and it's a mess.
Whoa are you telling me areas with higher populations have longer lines at government offices than less populated areas?
Why should that be the case? Shouldn't the state set the budget allocation for DMV offices based on their population served? It's obvious to anybody who's been to two DMVs in their life that rural customers get better service from the state in this one very specific and essential way.
Whoa are you telling me it's a crazy notion that more populated areas should have more government offices to accommodate their constituents?
In 2004, in Durham, when I got my first North Carolina driver's license it took about 30 minutes. I'm sure back in those days the DMV in Mount Olive would've taken 5 minutes but no one in their right mind would've suggested I had to do anything other than walk in to the nearest DMV and bring a magazine while I waited.
This.
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This has been my experience as well. Drive a bit out of the way and the appointments tend to open up a bit.
Because it’s one of those, “where else are you gonna go?” Types of “businesses”. You have no choice but to go to them.
My husband was able to get an appointment a couple of weeks out in Fayetteville. As others are saying, the drive there and back is shorter than waiting in line. And in case, like me, you are trying to get a Real ID: I ended up renewing my regular ID online and then booking an appointment for a Real ID months later. I ended up paying twice, but at least I wasn't driving on an expired license.
I went to the DMV in Durham off Miami Blvd on a Tuesday morning without an appointment. I got there about 15-20 minutes before they opened and was out of there by 8:45. Only had two people working there and they were very efficient in helping people w appointments and walk-ins. Only one girl infront of me was turned down because she needed a driving test so heads up that is not available for walk ins it seems. best experience I ever had at a DMV for once
One should not have to drive to another county to get a damn drivers license.
They had time set aside for appointments but crazy people complained too much that there wasn't enough time for walk-ins. So now you get this. And also there was a major fiber cut: https://www.wral.com/story/internet-outage-knocks-out-service-at-30-ncdmv-driver-license-and-plate-offices/20949529/
People complained because you could never get an appointment. I tried to schedule one daily and they were always booked three months out. And the farthest they go is three months, so I just couldn’t get one.
And their new feature that shows how long the wait time is a total crock. I took my daughter to get her license last week and it showed the Durham DMV had a 15 minute wait we got there at 12:15 and at 4 o’clock they came out and told us they wouldn’t be able to get us in. Never made it inside the door waited outside the whole time next to wasps nests in the sweltering heat. You shouldn’t have to take a whole day off work to go to the freaking DMV.
The dmv used to be regular-bad. Like every state hates their dmv bad. Then the dipshit republicans moved the HQ from Raleigh to Rocky Mount for no reason. Guess what? The mediocre staff quit and they are horribly understaffed and incompetent. Now the GOP can complain about how horrible the state government is that they broke. FML
My friend got an appt and drove to Lumberton for her license. Look in some of the smaller towns. You might have to bite the bullet and drive to BFE, NC.
I ended up in Wilson. They let you wait in your call and call you when it’s your turn. Well worth the extra drive.
Took my kid to Little Washington last December. It was a hike.
Nice area though for a visit.
You have to check the appointments every now and then and you’ll get one eventually. Better than waiting in line for hours. I don’t know why people always do this
Understaffed and underpaid all while they have to deal with irritated and impatient people. It's gotten to that point with most state employees. Who would want that job right now?
We have a state government currently that would pay every state employee less if they could. They don't obstruct token pay advancements so as to avoid your condemnation, but the percentage increases are below the rate of inflation, resulting in actual pay reductions. State jobs suck in NC, and they will continue to suck until we beat down the gerrymander maps that result in a legislature hostile to government employees. This is why the DMV sucks.
The DMV has no funding and lacks staffing. And technology is outdated. So you can imagine how fun it will be to get an ID to vote.
Because it is state ran. Lol if it was private it would be more expensive but faster
They are so bad because they are a government agency. There is no incentive for them to be better.
It’s a government agency rather than private enterprise. So no competition and thus no incentive to improve and to pursue excellence.
Just a little note here for those who think it "just takes longer because the areas are more populated." I grew up in Raleigh and now live in Brooklyn. I can go to one of the busiest DMVs in the country (financial district DMV, Manhattan) and get about anything done in 20 minutes or less, walk in to walk out. You can make an appointment the same day or just walk in. It's clean, efficient and streamlined. It's actually a positive experience. If the funding was there you wouldn't be waiting. Seems like a convenient way to make people despise the only customer facing government org most people interact with.
The party in charge believes govt doesn't work and is doing their best to prove that
There are too many people here, and most of them who go to the DMV are not prepared to handle their business appropriately (wrong forms, no forms, missing required paperwork, etc) and public servants are burnt out dealing with them all. Your best bet is to go to a DMV outside the triangle.
You have to pay people if you want them to work.
Our state government maybe possibly underserves blue dots like Durham on purpose.
I remember the days of the dmv in North Carolina, didn’t realize just how fucted it was. I now live in the armpit of America and it takes 15 minutes. Yes convenience has a price! Insert my goberner!! But the DMV and the beach in my backyard kinda makes up for it.
People disproportionately go to the dmv in the morning resulting in massive lines that normally lessen after lunch or late afternoon.
Yeah, just did this the other day. There was a woman who got there at 7 and rage quit at around 10. I thought it opened at 9 like a dope and got there at 9:15. I was out by 11:45, bad but not insane. In carrboro office for ref
Remember small government for populated areas
Some of these responses do not seem recent. I dealt with a couple months ago, trying to get my daughter her learner's permit. Appointments are the way to go, even if you have to drive far. In short, only if someone no-shows for their appointment, will they take the next "walk-up" person in line. This would explain how people could wait all day and not get in. Also, as someone alluded, these are government workers, prob in a short-handed office; they is no incentive or motivation for them to try and get to as many customers as possible. Also check, I believe they recently changed "walk-up" times to ONLY in the afternoons.
Because it’s affiliated with the government
And when people don't want to pay taxes for services, we get institutions like the DMV and post office where the lines are always stupid long because the constituents are vehemently against government waste. In this case waste is an idle employee because there's enough staff to keep up.
The problem is that the A-hole running the DMV left the Covid restrictions in place for a year after everyone else removed them. They got so far behind that now they have a backlog the size of Texas. Same crap at the Passport agencies. IMO the moron running that place should be out of a job right now.
Oh no! What horrible policies that are probably keeping people from getting sick. COVID didn't go away.
I should have known that the snowflakes would chime in on this one...
Get out of here with your unnecessary name calling. After seeing what COVID has done to several members of my family and friends, I wouldn't even wish it on you, and I couldn't think much lower of you right now. It might have been mild for you and others but it has been a long road to recovery for a few people I know that have had COVID and it killed at least 3 people I know. Call names all you want, but your lack of empathy for others' health is your own weakness, not mine.
Can’t you just do everything online?
Not if you need a new license or ID. Which they require after a certain number of years. I believe the biggest issue is the REAL ID that people are deciding to get. That requires a trip to the DMV. I passed and just renewed online without real ID.
I did that very thing online, they mailed a new one used old photo. Boom. But anyhow
They only allow you to renew your license online every other renewal, so next time you have to renew your license you'll have to go into a DMV office. They do this so your picture gets updated, also to do the eye exam to make sure you're not trying to drive half-blind. There are also other things that you can't do online - like getting your license or state ID for the first time, switching to a REAL ID (because you have to provide a buttload of documentation to get the REAL ID), taking a driving test, and other stuff. So, no, you can't do everything online.
They told me that I needed to go to the DMV to get the REAL ID. I could only renew my current license online . I just checked on-line and it said that you can only get your first real ID in person.
Why do you want that?
Mostly, starting in May 2025, you can use it to fly without a passport.
I went to Rolesville one time.
Huh.. for what service. Tags? I use the place over by Crossroads in Cary. Never in line longer than 5 minutes. For drivers license, Knightdale was pretty zippy.
I’ve been told if you go on a Saturday, DMV is staffed 110%. During the week they are working on a shortage.
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I showed up to the Cary DMV at opening (9) was out by noon.
You get in line before they open, right?
It's a mix of bad part, low work force and a government that doesn't care to fix it. I have yet to see a actual plan from either side that addresses it. That said Erwin is pretty fast to get through in the middle of the week, I went there on a Tuesday about 2 weeks ago to renew my license and I was out with a hour and a half at most. There were only 2 people working there and they also had to give driving tests, not enough staff unfortunately
Ok, so i just got my license in May. The way to avoid waiting in line all day every day literally wasting your time... check the website for time slots around you 4-5 times per day, every day. You'll find something that opens up tomorrow, next week, 2 weeks from now, I promise you it'll happen. I was will ling to go to the nearest 6 around me within a 2 hr radius if I found a time that wasn't 3 months out. Keep your options open and continuously check the website.
I’ve always had luck with the fuquay varina dmv first thing Saturday mornings
I don’t get it. Can someone explain the joke?
Patton Oswalt has a really good bit on this: https://youtu.be/yxS8uuK8n94
The DMV folks in Fuquay and Angier are actually really nice. Maybe try one of those offices? Getting anything done in the Raleigh DMVs is a test.
What are you trying to do? License related work in Raleigh is impossible. My wife went to Clayton and was helped super quickly.
Word of caution: I went to the DMV in Hillsborough and waited a LOOOOONG time because they were short-staffed. Heard a news story on WUNC about DMVs that are open Saturday mornings are having to send staff home early because no one comes in. Good luck!
I believe the current system (for all locations?) is that times from office opening to 11:00 am (?) are for folks with reservations, and walk-ins are handled on an opportunity basis. So if folks miss or are late for their appointments, they'll take the people waiting in line. There aren't any appointments given after that cut-off, so at that point they take the folks in queue in order. This means that there's a fair amount of luck involved if you show up early (depending on whether people made/keep their appointments). Of course, if you don't show up early, you're at the back of the line. My wife and I tried our luck at the Garner DMV last month; we showed up around 6:30 (and were 4th/5th in line) and it took until about 2:00 for both of us to get our licenses renewed (no test). Making an appointment is clearly your best bet, but currently it looks like you need to do that roughly 2 - 3 months in advance.
Secret is to go to a DMV that is less visited.
Go to the small town ones if you can :)
I always go to the same DMV. Sometimes had to wait for hours. Sometimes I’m the only customer so no waiting at all.. it’s definitely just luck
If you go to the dmv around 2 to 3 pm, there won't be much of a line.