Department of Motor Vehicles

I know its stereotypical to complain about the dmv, but this particular one is the absolute worst. I went in to get a California licence and had to wait about 3 hours. However, the waiting was nothing compared to what happened after.
Three months went by and I didn’t get my license in the mail. I called the DMV to inquire about it and they told me that I had to schedule an appointment. I set an appointment and went there only to find out that they made a typo on BOTH my mailing and home address so my license was lost in the mail.
Please, if you have to suffer through the whole DMV experience– go somewhere else.

waited 45 or more minutes to get to title transfer dept window.
super-​uppity flabby tattoo’d young clerk [a man in a suit tattoo’d to his left forearm] claimed we didn’t have all the documents.
after leaving, we learned that, in fact, all the documents were there.
pissed beyond all imagining.
yippee for dmv clerks who are both incompetent and snotty as a bonus!

Fastest, most efficient, and for the first time ever pleasant trip to the DMV. Full marks, these guys are great.

I know the DMV typically sucks. It’s true 99% of the time. The lines are so long you feel like you’re at Disneyland only the ride you get is either on your bank account or in your car back to your house. Not really a fun ride.
Anyhoo, this DMV is the best for me. Luckily I don’t have to wait in line to start so my number gets called within 10 min. The place is always crowded just like any DMV but I can always find a seat. The employee’s are fine except the girl in «camera» area was kind of snippy because I asked a question when she had a customer. Well the other lady in the cubical told me to identify that I was there. Sometimes people just assume others are self involved pricks when they just have a hard time standing whether they appear hurt or not. Thank you. I minus one Star for that.
I recommend going late afternoon on Friday it’s not so busy. Morning is a mad house.

Rude, unprofessional staff. I had an appointment, and was late by 5 minutes. Guess what — they send me to the general line.

I arrived there on 09:00am and finish at 10:10am including everything for the first time apply the driver’s license. People are nice.

Visited 1÷7÷2016
Haven’t been here for awhile. Not to many major changes. Parking lot rather large, but they do get busy. Street parking available
It’s suggested that you make an appointment online. Very easy to do. It tells you what days and times are available at whichever location. For the ones who didn’t make an appointment online, the line was long. It was out the door! If you made an appointment online, you definitely get preferential treatment.
Very organized. Places to sit while you wait for the next window that you are directed too. Unless you are studying for the permit test, I would bring something to read, but the wait isn’t bad.
You can either take the permit test online or paper. You take your picture the same day also.

A grocery checker told me my license was about to expire, but I hadn’t received a notice. I also apparently hadn’t updated my address, so I had to go into the DMV with no appointment. Meh.
I arrived at the Glendale DMV at 12:33 and was out by 1:49, photo and all. I’d expected a 3 hour wait given previous reviews, so I brought work with me. Plenty of seating and the clerks were all friendly. As far as DMVs go, it was one of my better LA experiences… not as good as Culver City, but better than any City of LA. Tip: get there early. By the time I left, the line was twice as long as when I arrived.

I had to wait about 45 minutes to an hour because I didn’t have an appointment, but I still think we probably had quicker service here than if we had gone to the downtown DMV which is a nightmare. At least in Glendale the people were friendly and seemed to be in a good mood. And the wait didn’t seem too bad. Te DMV website said the wait time was 30 minutes but we waited closer to an hour so I don’t think their wait times are accurate. Oh well, I’m glad it’s over and I don’t need to go back!

They have a senseless rule stating if you step outside of the building and try to enter back in after the closed time of 5pm you’re not allowed back in — regardless if you have already been issued a window ticket. Doesn’t make sense whatsoever. If the wait time is an hour and I get my ticket at 4:52pm, the DMV would still have to provide me a service around 5:52pm. Why does it matter where I am physically? Maybe I needed to go to my car in the parking lot to get my license or 100 other reasons why I would need to step outside. It makes sense for them because they want to cut down their work. The rule should be if you have a window ticket, it should be HONORED. The funny thing is the sign stating you can’t come back in is posted where? OUTSIDE. :)
Your service should be honored based on someone’s ability to stand in line and get a window ticket… not where they are physically located on a technicality. If you want to cut back on work, it would make more sense to have a cut off time for issuing window tickets… it doesn’t make sense to issue a ticket and then not honor it with a poorly constructed rule like this.
The manager and security guard were also extremely rude too (literally shutting the door in your face status — a win for civility)…so rude where you don’t even get offended by them… just feel sad how miserable their work must be for them to be so mean-​spirited and childish.
One additional area for improvement: The worker who issued my window ticket at 4:52pm could have mentioned this rule. But of course if they publicize this rule more people would stay in the building and they would actually have to stay and work.
Yay! The Glendale DMV… When is it NOT fun to visit an inefficient, archaic institution run by miserable employees and managers who barely made it through with a high school education, if that?

This DMV is definitely hit or miss. Sometimes you find parking, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes friendly people, other times not. Sometimes crowds, or not. If you can avoid going in, of course, do so. If you live between this DMV and the one in Granada Hills, go to that one, definitely. It took my friend about 2 hours from start to finish to take her written driving test, and about half that time in Granada HIlls. However, the driving test is easier here than in Pasadena, in my opinion, as this is more residential. Try to get an appointment if you can, otherwise you might be there a while.

i am surprised this place was opened on a saturday! this was the easiest transaction i had at the DMV. my mom and i had to renew our registration and there was a machine that helped with all of that. it was easy, quick, and definitely a great way to cut down the lines. the machine went step by step and made it very easy for those who are not tech-​savvy (aka my mom). we were in and out of the DMV in about 20 minutes.
I do understand that on their busier days, it will get CRAZY. but just have patience, make an appointment, gather your questions, have your paperwork ready, and you should be fine. also bring a fully charged phone or device for you to play on if youre waiting in a long line!

When I received the license renewal notice in the mail that stated it was time for me to actually go into the DMV to renew, I totally dreaded it. Having to go to the DMV is like having to go to the dentist to get teeth pulled! I decided to just get it over with so I went online to make an appointment. I haven’t stepped into a DMV in probably 10 years so the process was new to me. It was fairly easy to make an appointment and even though the Pasadena branch didn’t have an appointment till the end of November, I was able to get one in Glendale at 8:20am this past Tuesday.
I arrived there at 8:10am; the line was out the door but I was able to go to the front of the line since I had an appointment. I walked right in after a couple minutes of waiting and was assigned a number. The lady wasn’t particularly nice but it’s the DMV and I didn’t expect anyone to be friendly. She told me my number would be called so I sat down and waited. Once I sat down, I noticed that my number was on the screen but was told it would be called so I figured it would filter back to me again. I waited till 8:25am and decided to go back and ask the lady if I had missed my turn and turns out I DID! Luckily, she was nice enough to find someone to help me immediately instead of reassigning me another number and making me wait which completely surprised me.
The person who helped me looked incredibly bored but she got the paperwork done really quickly and sent me to take my photo. I was done by 8:35am!!! Words of the wise… MAKE AN APPOINTMENT… it makes all the difference!
Overall, it wasn’t a horrible experience but I’m glad it’s over with and I probably won’t have to go back for another 10 years! :) The facility is old and they don’t take credit cards at this branch so make sure you have enough cash or your check book. There are 2 free parking lots right behind it so parking was really easy.

I don’t expect good «customer service» when coming to the DMV, it’s the DMV after all, but I *do* expect the employees to at least be knowledgable in their field. Honestly, this DMV is home to the lowest common denominator of humanity. These people are absolutely soulless, and as a firm believer in karma, I can only hope that their personal lives are just as awful as their professional lives. I wish nothing but the worst for these people, and if there is a god, then I pray that there is a special place in hell for the Glendale DMV.
You can be rude and jaded all you want, but expecting patrons to understand the in’s and out’s of the DMV is ridiculous. That’s your job, and it’s also your job to inform others about how things work, instead of sitting there expecting people who don’t work at the DMV to be the one to inform *you!*
How the hell did you even get hired? To be honest, I’m not even sure McDonald’s would hire you.

Make an appointment. All the bad reviews are from people who didn’t have one. Trust me. Plan ahead.
I had to get a new CA Driver’s License. I’m from Arkansas originally. I made an appointment at 2:50pm. I arrived at 2:40pm and was seen immediately. After being issued my new, temporary license, taking the photo, and passing the test, I was out the door by 3:40pm.
As for the written test, I studied hard and passed. Take your time and read the questions carefully. That’s the part that took the longest, honestly. No one was rude to me. Everyone was doing their jobs as efficiently as possible.

Okay, perhaps it’s best that within my post hangover, Friday morning stupor, I start the day off on the right foot and begin giving credit when it’s due.
Received my shiny new D/​L yesterday (it only took 2 weeks to receive it) and despite the cantankerous disposition of the photo chick at the DMV let alone the fact that it took an hour just to get into this joint and another 45 minutes to actually be seen…
— - — - — MY PHOTO LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING STRAIGHT OUT OF OLAN MILLS!
I suppose a 1 star increase can be considered a «prop» to this joint for, if anything, observing my GQ potential and capturing it by way of a photo.
They still SUCKKKK, but there I digress.

Stupid and ignorant person was at the start up desk and management needed to post that they can not renew DL today (one post at one of the outside doors but there are few doors you can enter the location)
And then he sends me to the pasadena DMV knowing that it is a state wide problem the computers are not working. What a stupid DMV worker.

It’s the DMV people. Get over it. It sucks to loose hours of work to come to a place to just sit around and wait. No appt. Sucks. Go online it takes 2 mos. To get appt. But its worth planning ahead. If u need a next day DMV trip get ur ass up early. They open at 8am. I came in today 7:10am. Got my time/​# slip quick. 8:20am now. Waited aprox another 20 min. Out by 9am. It’s sounds long, but if u get here later expect to be here 2−4hours…

There’s a big sign outside stating there’s a self service terminal for registration. I came in to renew my license in June & noticed it was out of order. I thought, «when it’s time to register my car in a couple of months the machine should be working by then. no need to make an appointment» like the sign literally states.
Come August for registration renewal, I get there thinking it will be a quick convenient process & yet I find it’s STILL out of order. I’m convinced the machine has stayed broken or it keeps breaking, either way, if its not working take down the sign or have a sign outside stating otherwise — they had a sign outside for the photo booth not working (couldn’t issue new licenses that day), why not also saying the self service terminal was out of order?
Also, there aren’t any visible signs outside, near the entrance, or while waiting in line to let you know they don’t accept credit card payment. so make sure you have cash, your debit card or your check book (hello 1998!) before wasting your time.

By far the rudest people I’ve ever dealt with. My license plates were cut and stolen and when I went to get them replaced they charged me full price to re-​register after they laughed at the fact that this happened to me. When I showed them the one plate that had been cut to get my registration sticker they laughed and took it to show others who also laughed. I don’t find it humorous that I was a victim of theft and vandalism. The people who work here in my opinion are worthless, low-​life pieces of crap.
I’m not sure how the interview process went to work here, but I think it was something along the lines of:
Interviewer: «Do you know anything about anything?»
Interviewee: «No»
Interviewer: «Are you a nice, considerate, and understanding person?»
Interviewee: «Not at all»
Interviewer: «Did you have any form of education?»
Interviewee: «I don’t think I is know»
Interviewer: «YOU’RE HIRED!!!»
Interviewee: «Did you make an appointment?»