New York State Department of Motor Vehicles

For decades DMV always stood for Dreading My Visit; always unsure of what forms I needed, which were always confusing to fill out and seemingly interminable waits for employees that couldn’t rotate you out fast enough, until I went to Peekskill DMV. I’ve lived in Peekskill almost 16 years, and even my very first visit was short and uncomplicated. My latest visits were complicated and longer then desired, but that was the fault of the car sales dept and the state. The employees at DMV, from the greeter, who made sure I had the proper paperwork and that I didn’t have to wait when I returned, to the different clerks who patiently listened, diligently researched, worked together, and were more than polite, as frustrating and time consuming the process was almost made it fun, well, at least pleasurable. I think DMV in Peekskill should stand for Definitely Must Visit.

Five stars for a DMV Office? Ron, you ask, «Have you lost your mind?». No friend, I have not. Maybe because it was midday and mid week, but I walked in, was greeted by someone who works there, asked why I was there and given a ticket. 3 or 4 minutes later I was at a window and 2 minutes after that I was back on the street.
I’ve been to this and many other DMV’s. Perhaps I just got lucky but it doesn’t get any better than my last visit.

Well this is a DMV, so just for being OK, and not making me lose my mind they will get 5 stars from me! LOL. This was the first time I visited this DMV, and I must admit that it wasn’t that bad. I needed to pay a ticket, and I also needed to make sure that my license is OK, and that there are no tickets that I missed (I once got arrested for driving with expired license for ticket from 2000!
Nancy was very friendly, and checked all my information, the license, and the tickets, and when I left I felt that even large government places can be efficient.

As a foreign, I went to get my written driver license test. Really good service, fast no more than one hour

Quick and efficient. Dont make the mistake i made and when renewing your license first go to the counter instead of the photo place. Wait on line for the picture and then afterwards you take a ticket and wait. Ms. Williams (the woman that helped me) saw mistake and was nice enough to helped me out. Thank you!

Definitely the worst DMV I’ve been to in many years. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the nice DMV in Wappingers and the one in Kingston which are the only ones I’ve used for the past 20 years until I made the mistake of going to Peekskill. Against my better judgment I ventured over to see if this was worth saving myself the 35 – 40 minute drive to Wappingers. I was wrong and I won’t make that mistake again!
I assumed like the other DMVs you took a number based on your transaction and waited till your number was called. Wrong! Apparently you have to wait on an information line first. If someone says that when you walk in, they must have been out to lunch when I got there because I had no idea that they had a different process.
I took my number because I had all my paperwork. Waited an hour and a half till my number was called only to find out they wouldn’t help me because I didn’t wait on another line first? To make matters worse the woman at the window took me and my papers to the woman running the first line to explain what happened. Maybe she was trying to help me but that other woman rolled her eyes at me like I was an idiot and told me I was going to have to wait at the end of the long line and that the number I took wasn’t of any use on her line.
Nice attitude. I calmly took all my papers and forms which were all properly filled out and left.
I will drive to Wappingers from now on. They treat you like a person there! Peekskill’s DMV seems to think everyone there is trash and that’s how they treat people. Shameful!

The peeps here have impeccable hair and where else can you get a pen from a throwback vending machine for 25 cents? 5 stars. This dmv rocks.

This is so much better than Fordham Road. Short wait, nice people and staff. Great find.

I hate coming here because they have like 10 to 12 counters open but only two counters have people helping customers. All the others are right there in front of you hanging out talking and having coffee next thing you know you hear «Im going on Break «. Carmel is way better

First, you line up to get a ticket. Before you’re given a ticket, they will do a quick check of your paperwork to make sure you have everything you need. If a new photo is needed, they’ll take your picture right at this window. Then you get a ticket and sit until your number is called. On a Friday at noon, I waited about 40 minutes before my number was called. I had all my paperwork in order so it made their job pretty easy. I found the staff courteous and helpful in telling me what I need to do.
If you need something faxed to you (like insurance documents) on the spot, there is a state farm insurance office down the hall and they can accept faxes for free (even if you don’t have state farm insurance). They are friendly and post the fax number up on multiple signs so it’s easy to spot.

I find it ironic that this DMV doesn’t have a free parking lot. Or maybe it’s a NY thing, I have no idea. All the DMVs I’ve been to in CA have large free parking lots. Free public parking. Nice concept… but, that’s a rant for a different day. I only had to wait a little over an hour total for my 2 minute transaction. Not bad. However, there was a pair of men in their late teens/​early 20s who had been waiting before I arrived and still had not been attended to by the time that I was seen. One of them walked up to an employee who was sitting around behind the counter doing absolutely nothing, and very politely and apologetically said he and his friend (brother?) had been waiting a while and just wanted to know how much longer it might be. Very politely. Then this dragon of a woman began screaming at him. A little later she screamed in the direction of a fellow employee about how everyone needs to sit down and wait their turn. She was middle aged, short grayish hair, dark eyes. The way she was acting was seriously something out of a sitcom or comedy movie script, that stereotypical, exaggerated, spawn of Satan DMV employee character, except she was real. So avoid her and your trip here should be less unpleasant than it could have been.

Music in the waiting area is AOK.
The wait was tolerable. The service efficient. Renewed my license, including a new pic and eye test in 40 minutes, mid-​day, mid-​week.
Not bad for a government agency.

The DMV: it makes Dante’s 8^th circle of hell seem like child’s play.
It was with an impending sense of dread that I sauntered over to the Peekskill DMV. No, I did not party too hard and lose my driver’s license. Instead, I was turning in vehicle plates for a car that was long past its prime. (Don’t worry, the new Ferrari is getting custom plates.)
I got in line, had a very animated bi-​lingual employee hand me a number and waited in Purgatory (aka the DMV waiting area) for a bit. The waiting area of the DMV is like a lesson in cultural anthropology; it is the only place where I have been in the same room with a woman with a gigantic moose hat (cannot make this up), angsty teenagers waiting for the results of their learner’s permit exams, a priest, and recent immigrants.
After a few really intense games of Brickbreak, I was finally summoned! «Counter 14» the LCD screen read. Hmm, the front area only goes through Counter 11. After asking two employees to give me directions (the first sort of just pointed in a random direction and I still couldn’t figure it out), I found myself in the learner’s permit testing area.
Even though my number had been called, there was still a woman ahead of me going through the process of paying the exam fees. During the five minutes that I was mislead into believing this would be a quick and painless process, I could not use my cell phone. Why? Because I was in the testing area. What if I wanted to «live Tweet» the outstanding customer service I was receiving or check how many friends were telling me I got «owned» via my Facebook check-​in?
Finally! I left my plates with a cordial employee and high-​tailed it out of there.
Time spent in queue: 45 minutes.
Time spent processing request: under 1 minute.
Let’s get some Six Sigma consultants in here, stat.
I do hope there is such a thing as Parking Meter Karma — I donated a half an hour worth of time to a guy hovering over my spot, who is probably still waiting in line as I type this review.