NC Division of Motor Vehicles

Lets face it. Nobody likes the DMV. I am somebody, ergo I don’t like the DMV. But this one really isn’t too bad.
The building opened its doors at 8:00 AM on the dot, and it was ready to serve people. I went here to get my registration renewed. The line was long for 8 AM, but not unbearable. A supervisor passed out time cards to the people in line as part of an internal study on total wait time. It’s good to see that they legitimately care about the customers’ experience.
I still don’t know how to adult very well. I told this to the lady behind the counter, and she eased me through the process. She didn’t even try to give me grief for not having my title.
Kind people aside, why in the world can I not renew my license here? That’s rather lame. I’d say this is only half a DMV so it only gets half a rating, but that would turn me into a caricature. For your non-​license related needs this DMV will serve your purposes very well.

This is a specific gripe at the DMV title procedure. An elderly relative asked me to sell their car for them. Since they’re not local, and I’d need to sell it where I live, it would be inconvenient/​impossible to have a buyer travel to them to transfer the title. So I transferred it to me, and got new plates (and paid some property tax… got pretty expensive, even though it was a 15-​year-​old car). Now I have a buyer, but no title. It hasn’t arrived yet, and won’t for up to three more weeks. I called and asked for options, and was told «Sorry, you just have to wait.» I learned that I COULD have done an INSTANT transfer, for $ 75 extra, at the Raleigh or Charlotte office (sorry, you people in Murphy and Manteo). Back when I filed the transfer and got plates at a local license plate office, I explained what I wanted to do, and I ASKED if there was a quicker option. They said «Sorry, you have to wait.» A title transfer requires a Notary to certify the signatures, and both parties must be present. I suppose I could have finagled a Notary to do that without my relative present… but that would be wrong.

I visited the DMV during the late afternoon on a Wednesday. As I entered the building, I was immediately greeted by a cheerful receptionist who directed me to the license plate suite. Inside the office, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was no line, and I was immediately helped.
My experience was the DMV fairytale archetype: surreally efficient and brief. Easily my best and most memorable experience at a DMV.

Another positive experience with the DMV. For some reason, either the renewal reminder never arrived or I simply forgot to renew one of our three vehicles. I tried doing it online, got an error. I tried going to the local license plate agency, closed for the holiday (apparently the day AFTER Christmas is also a holiday) so I finally managed to find time to call the DMV to get it straightened out.
After 12 minutes on hold, a representative picked up the phone and was immediately able to resolve the issue. He was efficient, he was friendly and most importantly, he got the problem fixed. Awesome.
I know everyone likes to moan about the DMV but it seems like this is an instance where they have their stuff together.

I have been to DMV locations in multiple states and rarely do I have a pleasant experience in any. For any reason.
I have been in this one for 8 consecutive times for renewal of my registration. The longest I have ever waited in line to get seen was maybe 10 minutes. Even when windows have no customer and the employee is doing some random paperwork they don’t ignore you. You will get at least one that will nod and acknowledge your presence in the line. Some even call across to another window and will ask another to assist you.
There is a Cashpoints ATM available since credit cards are not accepted for transactions. No institution fees at this ATM makes this minor inconvenience much more tolerable. Additionally there is a security checkpoint adjacent which lends a air of safety when you have to pull out a couple of hundred dollars or so.
No DMV will ever get 5 stars. Just not possible. The fees are always too expensive and continue to mount. But this place is about as perfect as can be for a DMV.
Hint: Get here between 1 – 4 p.m. You’ll sail through with minimal waiting. Avoid paydays of the 1^st and the 15^th.
Happy moto — wait… can’t finish that, I might accrue a fee for… something.

This is the main DMV location for the State of North Carolina. So pretty much anything can be done here, except getting your drivers license. The parking lot is small, and many times you will be hard pressed to find a parking spot. The wait times can quite often be long, as for most government employees in Wake County, they are in a rush to go nowhere fast.
At this location you can get new tags, title, registration, pay fines, etc. here.

As far as DMVs go, this location is superb! I’ve had to go twice in the last week in dealing with the sale of my car. Both times (once was in the late morning, the other in early afternoon) the Tags & Registration office was well staffed and they kept things moving swiftly. The staff members that assisted me were patient and very helpful. I was in an out in fifteen minutes — it was incredible! I know that other DMVs in the area have long waits, so if you need to handle car related business in an office location, make the trip to Newbern Ave. and save yourself a headache.

So the DMV is all about motor vehicles, but it has a uselessly small parking lot that will have you doing laps hoping that someone walks out to their car when you happen to be walking past.
The DMV is there to take your money, but you had better bring cash or check; no form of plastic is taken here. Mercifully, they have a Cashpoints bank machine in the lobby, but that’ll irritate anyone who isn’t a State Employees Credit Union customer and has to pay some absurd service fee to withdraw funds.
Inside the DMV you’ll be greeted by some delightful 60’s architecture. The building can feel slightly labyrinthine, and you’re best to follow the signs.
If you’re like most people, then you’re probably going in there for either a drivers license renewal, a license plate sticker or some sort of vehicle transfer. The only help I can offer here is to suggest that patience is a virtue. Not so much with the staff, mind you, but with the people in front of you in line who will inevitably argue about some aspect of this with the poor sod behind the counter.
Like today. Here’s a snippet of the conversation that held me up from my simple license plate sticker renewal:
Customer: «I just want a new sticker for my license plate. I already have a plate.»
Clerk: «Yes sir. The license plate sticker is $ 33.»
Customer: «But my license plate was $ 33 and they gave me the sticker for free! I just want another sticker. Can’t you give that to me?»
Clerk: «No sir. Every year you have to renew your license plate to get a new sticker. That costs $ 33.»
Customer: «So I have to pay $ 33?»
Clerk: «If you want to renew your license plate, yes sir.»
Customer: «What if I don’t get another sticker?»
Clerk: «You can be pulled over by the police and ticketed for not having a valid license plate.»
Customer: «BUT MY LICENSE PLATE IS FINE! I just need a damn sticker for it …»
And so on, and so forth.
Given the monumental stupidity that the DMV has to put up with, I’m tempted to give them four stars. But alas, they’re a huge government bureaucracy and dealing with them in any capacity larger than a simple plate or license renewal can throw you into cardiac arrest.