Department of Motor Vehicles

Just had the best DMV experience ever! I had to renew my license and was in and out in less than 30 minutes. I had my 4month old infant with me and forgot my diaper bag (the worst!!!) and was dreading the long wait. The staff was super friendly and professional. Nia helped me with my renewal and understood my «rush» and was proficient in getting everything processed in an expedited manner.

I received my new driver license in the mail after having the VETEREN status applied and upon closer inspection I noticed that the new license was only a class C and M1 for my motorcycle status was not applied to my new license. I called the 800 number and the gentleman on the line was of little to no assistance and told me I had to go into the office to have the problem corrected, so I was not looking forward to going into the office after my experience with the gentleman on the phone.
After waiting in a line that was out the door. I was assisted by (Nia F. at window 13) and I will say it was refreshing to have someone take their time even with the amount of people waiting to be seen. Nia took her time and was very patient even though she had to fill out several sheets of paperwork and go through several different screens on her computer to have M1 reapplied to my license.
Thank you Nia for being such a pleasant person and your help, assistance and kindness today it was greatly appreciated. Have a blessed year.

I had such a painless experience here it’s crazy. Being new to Cali, I made an appointment online to apply for a drivers license and register my vehicle. It was a long wait to get an appointment (about 3 weeks), but well worth it.
When I arrived, I was instructed to get in the appointment line (which luckily was the shortest by far). I had all of my paperwork ready, so when I got to the front they verified it and then sent me outside with a new form to have me pull my vehicle around to the north side of the building for the inspection. This is where I encountered the most wait time, probably 30 minutes. After the inspection I went back inside, presented the completed inspection and then was given a number. I waited 5, maybe 10, minutes before my number was called. The drivers license portion took probably close to 35 minutes including all of the time for testing and the picture line.
I had to go to a different guy to process my vehicle registration, but luckily did not have to take another number for this. They found someone available and then took me right over. Another friendly face here, laughing and telling me all kinds of stories about his recent vacation. This took about 20 minutes and then he told me I would need to get a smog check. I arranged for one later that day. Once I brought it back I was able to take it right to the same guy and received my plates on the spot.
You’re required to surrender the plates from your old state and put the new plates on while you are there. (Don’t worry, they have screw drivers available for you.)
Overall I was extremely please with this visit to the DMV and hope any future visits go this smoothly.

The only dmv I know where you stand in line, to get a paper to fill out to stand back in line to get a number, to wait, to get help, to be told to sit down and wait, to be called back up to pay, then have a seat please. Then I look up and realize the lady in the window helping me took a lunch break. Couldn’t have the common courtesy to finish mine before you took a lunch. Really! I would avoid this office at all cost. Good luck helpers of you go there plan a whole day. I’ve been here since 1030 am and is now 3:40 and this lady isn’t back from lunch yet. I will spare her name because maybe just maybe it’s not her fault

Maybe things have changed now that the San Marcos office is up and running, but my experience was super. I had made an appointment to renew my license for 1 pm and had no trouble finding empty spaces in the lot when I pulled up at 12:50. Went to the Line B appointment line which had one person in front of me, handed the clerk my appointment confirmation and renewal form, and was given a number and told to take a seat where I could see the number board. There were 7 numbers ahead of me in my classification, with my number coming up in about 10 – 15 minutes. The clerk that I saw was super friendly and helpful as my vision test required some special handling. When I eventually passed that and paid my fee, I went to have my picture taken (5 minute line) and then went to the computer for my written test. Passed that and went to the final clerk (who joked around with me) for my temporary license. Out of the door at 1:40.
I did see some patrons who clearly had an «attitude» and were treated accordingly. But if you go in friendly and WITH AN APPOINTMENT expect to get superior service with a smile from this state agency.

I got the new «Classic» plates and noticed the paperwork that came from Sacramento had my father’s name on it. What the heck? He left us back in September, 2014. Now, where did the DMV get his name, and why is it on the paperwork from DMV headquarters? This was such a head-​scratcher, the Oceanside DMV just photocopied everything and said they need to pull micro-​fiches. Had to leave them my cell number and sign a declaration of truth and honesty.
What a friggin’ mess!

I’m a patient person, so at the dmv I didn’t mind waiting on my number to be called. That’s not the problem at all. However, the rudest lady helped me at the desk. She was an older lady (brown messy hair) working at cubicle 22– if you have her ask for someone else to help you immediately. She was the rudest woman I have ever encountered! She gave me so much crap about my marriage certificate being out of state. She claimed I wasn’t really married lol which is ridiculous because I kept telling her «here is my social sec. card to validate my identity and to clarify that I AM married.» Like holy shit. She spent 30 minutes rambling on about it. Then she finally said, «well I guess I’ll let you go through.» She also mocked my husband, active duty Navy sailor. That woman needs to be reported. No respect and made the whole situation pretty much awful.

Well, tried to make an appointment 3 weeks ago but there were none available so I forwent the appointment and came at 8:30 to wait in line. It’s strange that only one day out of the week this place opens at 9 am… I don’t get it, but whatever that’s the way it is. Total time spent at the DMV was around 2.5 hours. For something that literally took about 15 minutes of an interaction with a teller seems like the waits are so ridiculous – maybe due to understaffing, maybe just to waste time. Not sure. My teller was great, not terrible like some of the tellers. This place could use some ventilation and more seating as lots of people get forced stand. Otherwise, fairly easy exchange, just wish there was a way to speed up the pieces.

Gonna be totally honest here, was expecting this to be a nightmare with rude staff and excessive lines out the door. This was my experience at the Riverside County DMV.
I arrived sans appointment on Thursday afternoon. The first available appointment was months away so I decided to brave it. I had to wait for about 5 minutes before getting the paperwork I needed. The queues were well marked and the person on staff was very kind. Filled out the paperwork and stood in a different line. About 1 minute wait. Was given a call number by a second staffer. Also very friendly. Had about a 20-​minute wait while listening for my call number, which was displayed both on a screen and announced. Third kiosk and third staffer — again super friendly and very quick. Got me all set in record time. I was really shocked at how smoothly it all went.
Yes, the interior could use some serious renovation and the patrons don’t wear deodorant, but I survived and the staff did a fantastic job with everyone else in there today.
TIP: Debit Card, Cash, or Check Only. No Credit Cards accepted.

Ok, so everyone hates the DMV, right? I was informed by a TSA agent on my flight back from Vegas, that my license was expiring on my upcoming birthday… less than 2 weeks away.
I *thought* I had done a Change of Address 2 ½ years ago, apparently I had not. So I never got the renewal notice in the mail. Which I DO NOT GET — as my registration comes to my house? Why does the DMV not update records simultaneously? I don’t get it. I think I did do a change of address but it only updated my car registration, not my license, which is completely lame.
Anyway, my boyfriend had a similar, concurrent issue with his registration, the tags never showed up and this turned into a long mystery, ending up realizing he had to go into the DMV. He made an appt and got a Next Day Appt.
Whilst at the DMV, waiting, albeit the appointment was in place… he said it was not that bad, and if I was able to get there soon, maybe I can walk in. They close at 5pm.
I got there at 3pm, walked in, to the «walk in line» filled out my forms, etc, and what do ya know? I was OUT OF THERE in under an hour!!! That included a new address, license renewal, eye exam, new photo.
So, it didn’t suck. The people I encountered were efficient, slightly pleasant, not overly. But I am not there to make friends. So all fine with me that it was heavier on the efficiency than the friendly smiles for miles.
Note, I went to the DMV on a FRIDAY at 3:30pm, and left just before 4:30pm, with NO APPOINTMENT.
BAM!!! That just happened!

This is my first review & yes, I’m totally doing it for the Oceanside DMV. Yes, I’ve been frustrated at the DMV before. No one likes long lines or told the right information or given multiple forms to fill out & bring back in only to be told it should’ve been a different form or ‘Sorry, you need to make an appointment…’ only to find out the next available appointment is in 2 months… That was my experience at other DMV locations this past 8 months…
Frustrated and already resentful at the DMV, I went to the Oceanside location (my first time there) with my fists up. But, I have to own up to the fact that I tried taking the motorcycle test twice without studying and guess what, I failed it twice. Note to readers, you have to study the motorcycle booklet before taking the test. I may have passed the Minnesota motorcycle test on the first try w/​o studying, but as I keep continuing to learn… California is a whole notha’ ball game, folks. The test is more difficult.
Anyway, I became extremely upset to learn that once you try for a motorcycle test along with a new Ca drivers license test, the two are linked. Bottom line, it meant that if I failed my third and last attempt with the motorcycle knowledge test, not only would I not have a motorcycle license, I would no longer have my driver’s license. I would have to re apply and re pay for both and take both the knowledge tests and field tests for both. Yikes! I did not know this and was never informed of this at the other locations…
At the end of the day (literally today) I passed my motorcycle written test. And, I get to keep my new Ca drivers test… whew!
Thank you, thank you to Lolita for your above and beyond customer service and especially, the kindness you showed me. Initially, I was a firecracker at you and later started to cry out of frustration. And, you didn’t have to help me, but you saw me across the room starting to cry and helped me… thank you!
And, thank you Nia for your help and kindness today. It meant so much…
Bottom line folks… the DMV does get a lot of haters and you may be right on your end, but at the end of the day the people who work there are just trying to do their job and if you really are honest with yourself, maybe… just maybe it’s something on your part that contributed to the frustration… at least, that was the case with me

As if I have to tell you how miserable this DMV is, and sadly since it is the government– they don’t NEED to change in order to get our business or satisfy their customers to get repeat business!
I went on a Tuesday morning at 11– and as usual it was a dog eat dog parking lot– where you pray for someone to leave so you can get a spot before the other vultures circle!
I had 4 young children with me and waited, just standing in line for 1 hour to get a number so absurdly low that I knew I would spend the rest of my life sitting in those hard, closely spaced time killing chairs.
A man who had arrived at 7:30AM was finally seen 5 HOURS later and we all cheered when he left our section– which prompted a security guard who had nothing better to do, to come over and single someone out to reprimand for inciting that type of noise– SERIOUSLY?
4 HOURS after I arrived, I was finally seen, and to her credit, the woman who served me was pleasant and answered questions and processed the 2 items I needed quickly–
Wish I could give no stars but the 1 woman does deserve a star

My number was called
First thing the girl asked me
you speak English ???
Yes I feel like I live here

Had to get a replacement driver’s license last minute so it didn’t make sense to try and make an appointment online, the next option was in 2 weeks so I just did a walk-​in.
Parking was tough because EVERY SPOT IS TAKEN! I finally found a spot after circling around the parking lot 7 times.
My number was called after an hour and a half wait. The guy that helped me suggested I got a renewal driver’s license since it was expiring in a few months so I did that. Got more of my money out of it… touché, DMV!

No one likes the DMV. You only come here if you have a problem, and what employee would be happy dealing with Jerks all day?
If you have a solid mindset walking in, knowing you’re going to burn AT LEAST a few hours, even with an appointment, then you’ll be fine sitting on your phone.
The appointment system has improved, and I’m a fan of the A, B, C line system. It really helps prevent waiting in a line out of the door when you already made an appointment months in advance.
Even though the DMV has improved, I just can’t bring myself to give higher then 2-​stars. Too many nightmares!!!

So I’m standing in line to get into a bar when the bouncer tells me that my ID is expired. I couldn’t get into the bar and now I have this expired ID to deal with. Damn DMV why didn’t they mail me a renewal notice? I went online to get an appointment but the next available was nine weeks away! That’s ridiculous how does it book up nine weeks out?
I was dreading having to go to the DMV but a lot of my friends said to just go and pretend I had an appointment so I decided to do that. I also got advice to go to the DMV later on in the day because you won’t be there for hours and they will hurry up if they’re about to close.
I went into the DMV on Monday at 2pm and told the security guard at the door that I had an appointment for 2:15. There was only one person in the appointment line, so far so good. I get to the front and I tell the lady that I have an appointment to renew my drivers license and she said «what is your name phone number and the time of your appointment so I can look you up on the list.» Uh oh, I wasn’t expecting all that so I tell her my name and phone number because I couldn’t lie. Obviously I need to give her my correct information to get my ID then she proceeds to look for me on the list which of course I am not on. I act dumbfounded, «what how is my name not on the list? I made an appointment.» She told me that she’s going to go to the back to see if she has a more updated list. Bless her for trying to find my name and not just shrugging me off and telling me to get a separate line, about five minutes later she comes back and says «I can’t find you anywhere. Is the only thing you need to do is renew your license? Don’t tell me that’s all you need to do and then later come up with other things that you need to do as well.» I assure her all I need to do is renew my license and she tells me to fill out the form and come right back up when I’m done. I fill out the form and when I’m done I step up and she calls me over she gives me a number and told me to sit down and someone will call me. Well for not having up an appointment this seems to be working. I grab my number and sit in a chair relieved that I was able to do this & look over to see the non-​appointment line and see that it has not moved at all. The same people that were there when I first walked in are still there waiting, poor fools.
It is so messed up that someone can get an appointment and it’s fast and everyone else has to wait for two hours. In no way, shape, or form do I feel bad that I lied about having an appointment though. About 20 minutes later they call my number and I go up and pay the fee and then I have to go stand in another line to get my picture taken. I get my picture taken and then I’m done they tell me that my license should arrive in the mail in a couple weeks.
From the moment I walked into the DMV to the time I left was exactly an hour. I’m very lucky that I was able to lie that I had an appointment and be in and out of there in an hour. For non-​appointment people the line just to get in was two hours long! Which would mean that if I had made the line and then done my stuff I would’ve been at the DMV for three hours! That’s just ridiculous.
With technology the way it is nowadays I don’t understand why the DMV doesn’t send you an automatic renew wall notice in the mail. All they have to do is have a computer automatically send out your renewal. The DMV needs to get with the times. I understand if someone doesn’t have the Internet or doesn’t have a bank account or doesn’t have means to use technology that they will need to come to the DMV personally but for everybody else they should just be able to do everything online. It seems to me like the DMV doesn’t want to put everything online though because if they do that then they will have to get rid of employees because they won’t need to employ them.
I don’t know how much these employees are paid but none of them are friendly it seems like they are just there literally doing their job. They punch in & punch out. And the people that have to come to the DMV are definitely a different social economic class. My warning is make sure that you do make an appointment because now the DMV is checking to see if you have an appointment, I got lucky but I think they’re going to catch on and people won’t be able to lie anymore.

No one expects the DMV to be any good. Seriously, even kids know what’s up with the ninth inner circle of hell.
— — — —
«Son, what do you know about the DMV?»
«Doesn’t that place suck goat balls, mommy?»
«That it does, son. They just put those fuzzy, sour testicles in their mouth and gargle to their heart’s content. Let’s go waste four hours down there.»
— — — —
Now, I’ve never had huge problems at the DMV. I register my car online, so I don’t have to deal with them in that regard. Whenever I get a new license, I make an appointment and go early, usually in and out pretty fast. But, unlike a restaurant where I can just talk about my own experiences and recommend based on my own likes, I really should be talking about just what you can expect here.
Expect all the horror and Lovecraftian madness you would as if you were swallowed whole, anus first, and then traveled through the entirety of an ancient and dying whale’s digestive track before being birthed screaming and naked through the gaping maw of its slime slathered and dripping gullet.
There is a large parking lot and it is always full; cars line the streets down the block where you see sad and broken people shuffling slowly toward the black hole of the DMV building. Even early in the morning, there are lines out the door, curling around the outside walls where you can see hope slowly fading from ashen faces. The inside is packed, stifling, loud with the disgruntled moans of droves of patrons sitting in hard, plastic chairs as they wait for the soft spoken announcement over tiny speakers that will tell them they have been chosen to go to stand in a second line and wait for their soon to be arriving turn to be «helped.»
It really is that bad for most people.
And again, it can be a quick experience. But, only if you fit in that very narrow category of drivers that don’t challenge the exceedingly simple system in any way shape or form. If even one aspect of your application doesn’t satisfy the long list of easy-​to-​read phrases on the DMV worker’s checklist, then you have wandered outside of their comfort zone and will be lost in the maddening bureaucracy to wither and die.
My girlfriend, who has an expiring Ohio license, needs a new California one to be able to drive. Being an out-​of-​state driver, she apparently needs her birth certificate to prove who she says she is (because her current license from another legally recognized state just won’t do). We complain that it doesn’t state that we needed that on the website, woman behind the desk countered that it did, we proved our position by pulling up the website on our phones and showing her that it does, in fact, not state that we needed it.
«Well, it’s required. Come back within the hour and you won’t need another appointment … NEXT!»
We had to drive back to Encinitas (there is no closer DMV than Vista), pick it up, and drive back. When we got back, she looked at the birth certificate, and then told us we need a certified copy of her divorce papers because her name didn’t match the certificate; because, you know … duh!
Put aside the fact on how extremely inconsiderate it is to tell us to drive 30+ miles to grab one piece of paper and then tell us that we need to do it all over again (even though the DMV worker doing so shows either how extraordinarily stupid she is or that she purposefully is forcing people to jump through gas and time consuming hoops for her own menial amusement), put aside the fact that it really does feel like this whole process is specifically designed to prevent people from being able to acquire legal California documentation (which, when you look around at who make up the lines standing about, you can see how that would make many a Republican happy), It really does boggle the mind as a guy how the system makes it that much harder on women just for the simple desire of getting married (again, probably making many a Republican happy).
So, now we have to get more paperwork (which presents its own host of problems) and make another appointment. Hopefully, we either have someone a bit more forthcoming and helpful behind the desk or we can just force our way through the process. As it stands right now, the bureaucracy does not help to alleviate the existing bureaucracy. It’s funny to think that if someone comes to me with a problem, I do what I can to help and fix it. Here at the DMV, they blame you with vague accusations and whisper incomplete instructions, and that just wastes more time and doesn’t serve anyone.

For a DMV, the Oceanside location isn’t half bad, and its pretty big too.
I showed up @ 3:30 I had to pick up tags for my company car and I was in Oceanside.
The line system is a little weird but it moved fast. I waited less than a ½ hour from there I was in and out in about 45 mins. the line for the automated registration was longer. they dont take credit cards just cash check or Debit
I got a front row parking spot too.
Definitely a great place to people watch.
The staff is surprisingly very friendly and I did get 2 of them to smile. WHAT! that’s right they smiled :)

For a DMV, the Oceanside location isn’t half bad. The line system is a little confusing for a first timer. Make an appointment online and you can get in line B. Things will hopefully go quicker for you. Also, do everything at once. If you bring everything you need, it will be pretty painless.
Definitely some interesting characters, but that’s to be expected. Huge props to Dave, who was extremely helpful and made my experience significantly better. He was helpful, friendly, and wasn’t condescending. Dave went above and beyond to help make sure all my out of state papers were in order.
It took 2 hours for me to finish everything (new vehicle registration and drivers license). A little long but not nearly as unpleasant as it could have been.
The appointment system is awesome — don’t bother going without an appointment.

My 100^th review is of the DMV! Thank you fellow Unilocalers for helping me get through the wait here by making me laugh.
1) I made an appointment for 9 am, but at that time, the non-​appointment line was shorter. So make an appointment or go early in the morning if you don’t want to spend half your life here.
2) The staff is surprisingly very friendly. Much friendlier than any DMV I have dealt with.
3) If you are from out of state, you have to take the written driving test again. It doesn’t matter that you were never planning on urinating on the sidewalk; you should still know how much you’d get fined for doing so. ($ 1000)
3) Stop complaining about the wait times — if you want the DMV to hire more staff, donate money to the California government.