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Waited 3 hours at the DMV today. Here is what I learned. Side note: my wait was short compared to about 90% of the people there. Many were on a repeat attempt and still didn't get in today.
TL;DR - 1) Go to the DMV early & get in line. 2) Get the QR code if they have it available and get your spot in line. 3) Then wait in the queue for your number/spot to be called up.
Otherwise, you will physically wait in line, to get a spot in line. I arrived at 2pm and at 5pm I still didn't have a spot in line. I know this makes ZERO sense. **For reference, the line just to get a spot in line was about 40 people with about 60 ahead of us who already had a number.
DMV Coliseum Drive - Accepts walk-ins starting at 7am and I confirmed this with a DMV employee. The website states differently for this location so I recommend just going to your local DMV to get the correct information.
Making an Appt - don't count on it. If you are able to make an appt, plan for it to be far in advance and at a DMV not near you.
Rural or less populated DMV's - per the line chatter, Kernersville, Thomasville and others were no better in terms of lines and wait times. Many in line had already tried those locations too.
DMV has a QR Code system to get in line:
From the DMV Website: ***"***Q-Anywhere lets customers check in by scanning a QR code and texting a short message to get and hold their place in line. Customers are then free to queue anywhere – they can waitin their vehicle, or they can run other errands in the immediate area to pass the time. Customers are alerted via text to enter the lobby when staff is ready to serve them."
There was nothing posted about the QR Code anywhere in the facility from where I was sitting. I learned of it through line chatter. A woman came in and said to someone else, "I texted this U-code to this number and got in line". Unfortunately, she left before I could catch her and get the information.
I researched all over online to try and find the code. I came up empty. I even posted on here trying to find the information.
QR Code to get in line: Don't count on this being an option depending on the time of day you go. Per the line chatter, the Coliseum location disabled this function at some point today. I'm guessing because they can't possibly serve everyone who gets in line. However, they also couldn't serve everyone that was physically in line waiting for a spot in line. ....... Yeah, you read that right. In line....for a spot in line.
At 5pm, I asked the DMV employees: When/where will the code be available tomorrow so I can get in line?
First response confused me so I thought let me ask again. Turns out, I wasn't confused and I heard them correctly it just made ZERO sense.
Their response upon my 2nd attempt to clarify: "She just explained that. You need to come back tomorrow, get in line and wait like everyone else for the code. Then you will be in line."
I said, "That doesn't make sense. Wasn't the point of the system to expedite the line, remove the need to stand here all day and allow us to still work, run errands, etc? "
Response: "You are not going to show up at 3pm and try to front the line for someone who has been waiting since 11am. You can get in line and wait your turn to get in line. We will not honor your appt and you won't be seen if you don't wait in this line like everyone else."
Maybe I don't understand the point of the queue system, but if everyone has access to the code wouldn't we just scan and wait our turn? What am I missing here?
Anyone have any thoughts and can enlighten me? Anyone who can MAKE IT MAKE SENSE?
I've heard people say that scheduled appointments were great during COVID, but I'm finding it insufferable to try to deal with the appointment booking system. I've been looking for over a month and there hasn't been a single appointment that isn't already same-day (or >3 hours round trip to get to/from). I need to take PTO to go and ideally need to book 3 days in advanced, but this seems impossible. Usually the location lists no appointments at all.
They open at 7AM, but for how far in advanced is super unclear and probably super inconsistent. Do they open the schedule in 1 week blocks? 3 day? 1 month? No idea! There's 0 transparency. I'd love to just book an appointment 2 months in advanced at this point just so I can be done with it, but that's not an option.
I just moved to CA and need to transfer my DL. I managed to "get a place in line" but I have no idea what this means. Im in 23rd place and the dmv closes in 2 hours. Should I go?
What do I need to bring? Just passport and previous DL I guess?
And will they just give me a new DL or do I need to take a test or something? Im from Florida.
Hey everyone!
Like many folks, I got really frustrated with the official NC DMV site – it takes forever to load and you can only check one location at a time for appointment availability.
So, I built a tool to scrape the info and make it easier to check multiple locations quickly. After monitoring my tool for a few days, I found an appointment just 2 days out within a 45min drive!
I figured others could benefit from it too, so I built a simple, free site around it:
https://nc-dmv-appointments.com
I've thought about adding notifications for newly opened nearby appointments. If that sounds useful to you, you can register for the waitlist on the site. If enough people sign up, I'll build it! :) EDIT: I built this feature in so you can now sign up for notifications!
Hopefully this makes dealing with the NC DMV a little less painful for someone else!
tl;dr: I built a free tool to easily monitor for open NC DMV appointments. Check it out at https://nc-dmv-appointments.com