Department of Motor Vehicles

I know that most people hate going to the DMV… as do I for the most part. It does help when you have an appointment or have something to put you in the appointment/​handicap line. You get to skip the crazy long line, no matter what time of day, and go to the front. I was in and out in probably about 30−45min, which for DMV is FAST! This office is the same as all the others, workers taking their time to do whatever they are doing, and just seeming like forever before your name is called plus all the time you just spent in line. I went to THIS specific office back in August of last year to change my address, and filled out full form to change it only for driver’s license but for my physical address too. I am not sure why if you are changing your address for your ID, they wouldn’t just assume, that you would want anything mailed from them to go to that address as well otherwise why I am I changing anything!!! When I talked with the gov’t worker she said I must have just filled out the ID only one… even so, which I didn’t, why would I just change one and not the other and why would YOUR office not change all of them automatically… oh right. your the government and you only do exactly as told and usually mess that up too. So I never got my registration for this year and now I just noticed my reg is now expired. I find out I have to go smog this year before I can get my tags so I have to do that now as well. At least I found a place in San Lorenzo that is relatively cheap on Hesperian across from McDonald’s. I believe it’s a 76 station. Then I get to go back and start the wait process all over again… yippie

My driver license expired in 90 days. But I need to travel out of country for half year. I checked their web and it says people can renew in person within 6month.
But the front desk lady made her own rule, saying I can’t renew unless within 30 days. I tried to explain my situation. She just gave me firm no gesture and called the next one. I was stuck there embarased. When I tried to explain more, she just walked away.
What a horrible people and service!
I tried the redwood office the following day. The case was accepted without problem.
She should be fired.

Today I walked into the dmv building where the security guard initialed AL I believe.(really long last name) greeted me by telling me to move to the other side of the line. This is understandable because otherwise the bathrooms would be blocked. However I pulled out my phone to text my friend and he tells me not to take a picture. What kind of racist remark is this when everyone else was using their phones. He must have some kind of problem with asians! I was drinking my coffee and he tells me to bring it back to the car. This is understandable to avoid spills. However I was already offended and this Pissed me off even more. He then comes over and tries to explain himself. «I did not tell you to throw it away» was he thinking that I did not understand him. Obviously he knew he wronged us in someway.
Anyways a window 8. Olga C was very helpful. And had excellent customer service. So plus 1 star. She made my visit very quick and painless. Any problems I had were solved immediately.

I’ve only heard horror stories about the wait times at the DMV. So you could imagine my reaction when I received the letter from the DMV to renew my drivers license in person.
I haven’t been to the DMV since I took my drivers test when I was 16 years old. So it’s definitely been awhile. I tried making an appointment but the earliest appointment available was a week before my birthday and I was traveling the weekend of my birthday and didn’t want to deal with using my passport for ID when I was only travelling domestic.
I decided to come to San Mateo DMV, despite the fact that Daly City is closer to me, just ’cause I heard the wait isn’t as bad as Daly City’s. I came in on Monday, Jan 4 at around 8:05am. I figured, since it was drizzling that morning and it’s the first Monday of the new year the wait wouldn’t be as long. I think that worked to my advantage.
I got in line at 8:08. The line was out the door, not too long, it just wrapped a little bit around the building. I got my ticket at 8:14, got called to the window at 8:50 and was out by 9am.
Definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. The workers over there were just okay, weren’t the friendliest of people but then again it is the Monday after New Years. So whatevs. I’m just glad I was out in less than an hour.

People are so rude in here, they are trying to take advantage of us people, really slow and never care about people’s time and chat to each other when everyone late for their home or work

If you arrive at least 30minutes prior to opening (7:30am), it won’t take more than 30 minutes to finish your business even WITHOUT an appointment at this location!
They hand out forms in line before they open so processing each customer is quick and very efficient. They are even friendly.
It’s worth going out of your way if you have to go to the DMV. Amazing. Wait, maybe I shouldn’t encourage that! Never mind …

Came here today, on a Friday, with no appointment for a license renewal. Arrived at 10am and was out by 11:30am. Pretty good for a DMV. =)

Glad to see my tax dollars at work. One person working window. So if you have half a day to waste come right in!

If you are next in line, DO NOT WASTE TIME FILLING THE FORM. You have to make the window asap otherwise you will be DENIED your appointment. Instead, waste time filling it at the window. You have to play their games sadly.

I’ve been to this DMV (San Mateo) a couple of times for renewing my Driver License to re-​newing my car registration and I would say that it was a pleasant experience compared to the DMV in San Francisco.

One star for ease of appointment and location (convenient)
One star for handling all my requests: updated address on CADL and transferred vanity plates from old vehicle to new.
But whoever was working Window 16 on 9÷11÷15 is a grumpy old man that hates his job. Cheer up buddy, life ain’t that bad. Put out more positivity and personality while you work.

I haven’t been to the DMV in a lonnng time, but the time came for me to change my last name to my hubby’s. (Men are so lucky they don’t need to go through any of this.) I made an appointment and expected the worst. I had an appointment at 2:10pm on a Friday and I was sure I was going to end up at the DMV for 2 – 3 hours.
Boy was I wrong! It turned out to be such a wonderful experience! I got there around 1:50 and there was plenty of parking. I parked right in front and then there wasn’t a line at all for checking in either with or without appointments. The lady who checked me in was sooo nice and gave me all the forms I needed. When I was done filling it out, she called me right up to the counter so that I didn’t have to wait again. So nice! Plus she was very pleasant to talk to and not at all crabby or mean.
After I got my number, I only had to wait about 5 minutes before I was called. Then, the lady who helped me process all the paperwork was super nice too! She also said congratulations and it felt so cool when she kept calling me by my new last name.
Last but not least, I went to take my picture and ended up standing in the wrong line. And someone who didn’t even work for the DMV walked by to tell me I should wait in the next line for my picture. How sweet!
Overall, it was a real pleasant experience!

There isn’t really much to complain about. I’ve been to this DMV 4 times and never had any issues. Staff are very nice (even first thing in the morning!) and the operation seems very organized.
I went in this morning to renew my DL and got there at 7:30am. I was number 15 in line and by the time doors opened there were 60 – 70 people after me. About 15 minutes before 8, couple of DMV employees handed out numbers to people and asked if they needed any forms. It took about half an hour after we entered to be done with the process and everyone I dealt with was nice.
Definitely recommend going in 20 – 30 minutes before they open if you can’t make an appointment online.

So this is a DMV which means I went in dreading what awaits me. I had a vehicle registration issue and had brought all paperwork with me. No appointment. Was in line for about 25 mins, and surprisingly when I got to the counter the lady smiled and asked me how my day was going?! «What the… «, I wondered to myself. She’s NICE to me?! Am I still at the DMV?
Not only that, she proceeded to quickly handle my request, process it and told me to wait until I was called back, which took all of 10 minutes. Was out the door in 35 minutes, wait and processing included.
Just remember though — DMV experiences are just completely random and subjective. My experience may not necessarily translate into yours. You get the wrong service desk person at the wrong time and your experience could be a 1 star rating. So my 5 stars really are for that lady who had awesome customer service etiquette and helped me out!

Want there to renew my license. Knowing the appointment will take weeks, I decided to walk-​in.
First of all, make sure you are waiting at the right entrance, which is their main door. DMV in San Mateo has many doors, and the main entrance is NOT facing the parking lot.
I was there on a Wednesday, the only day DMV open at 9 am instead of 8 am. I arrived 1 hour early before they open. There was already a line of 20+ people. The line grew quickly to about 50 people by the time they opened. I suspect there might be less people on the day when they opened earlier.
10 minutes before DMV opened, their staff came out to get everyone started. First they asked people with an appointment to step aside on a separate line. Then they go down the main line to understand people’s purpose of visit and issue everyone a card corresponding to the service they need. I got a card labeled F for renewing license. They also provided some forms of people need one. In my case, I didn’t have to fill-​in anything for renewing driver license.
Once getting into DMV, everyone turn in their card to a main service counter to exchange for a number ticket. My ticket number was F007 and I got it around 9:10.
I sat and waited for 10 minutes for my turn and finished everything and out of that place by 9:35.
Staff were courteous and their process were efficient. This is the best DMV I experienced in the Bay Area.
Note:
If you are planning to get there and obtain a California ID for the first time around (meaning you have never obtained an ID before), you will need to make an appointment online. They don’t take walk-​ins for that purpose. It sad to see 3 people got rejected after waiting for an hour long!

Thank the lord for San Mateo DMV. I went in today because the Daly City DMV told me I had to come back. It’s a really long story which I may write later on at the bottom if im up to it. Anyway, I feel this DMV is way more organized than the SF and Daly City DMVs. The lines arent as long and the people who work there are way nicer.
Story as to why I had to come back
So I had to go to DMV to take a permit test for my motorcycle license. (Once you pass a motorcycle course, you need to pass the written exam to get your license) So I went to Daly City DMV to do this. I didnt have an appointment and it literally took me 3 hours for my number to be called… I timed it on my phone. So the lady takes my paperwork and then tells me I need to have my picture taken and pass the written exam. Oh and I have to get into the testing area before 4:30 because they dont administer it after 4:30… She tells me this at 4:20. Of course im freaking out because theres a line to take pictures. Anyway i get through the line and make it into the testing area before 4:30! Hurray! I take the permit test and pass with flying colors! Im excited and walk over to the guy at the counter to show him. He looks at all my stuff and then says. by the way, i know they told you that all you needed to take was the motorcycle test, but you actually need to take the regular C license test too. Im a little confused as to why but i agree to it and ask him if i can just take it really quick. He says sorry you cant. its past 4:30. I look at my phone and its literally 4:35. He then tells me I need to come back another day to take the test… Are you joking??? I waited 3 hours and I have to come back?! I was pretty annoyed and pissed off, but what could i do!?? So today i decided to drive all the way to San Mateo because I heard the wait wasnt as long. I literally spent 30 mins tops at SM. I was helped by 3 different people and basically they told me Daly City was wrong and I did not need to take the C license test and that my new drivers license would be in the mail soon. Thank you SM ! I will never return to Daly City DMV. I’d rather drive to SM.

Great coustmer service and location is very good it right on ramp of 101 easy to find never miss it
Restroom is very much clean
Car park is really very big
All employees is very helpful staff

Eh.
I’ll give them points for being a fairly spacious office with a pretty large lot. Also Points for having fairly normal hours — at least they’re open longer than post offices. I haven’t had rude or bad service here during both instances that I’ve dealt with this specific office — the people are fairly polite and helpful, given the fact that they’re dealing with hoards of pissed off or bored people. Let’s just say the happiest person here is probably the dude running the food truck parked by the Non-​Appointment line.
You may be now wondering why all of us silly people complain about the wait instead of getting an appointment. To clarify that bit, getting an appointment here in a time frame that will address your problems is kinda like a unicorn sighting. Chances are, the first available appt is at least a month away, at a time that you won’t like. Some unforeseen problems need to be solved sooner (i.e. registration renewal issues. I can’t get ticketed for two months for every public street I park at. Hence, I brave the line).
There is a site that gives a time estimate on how long you’ll be in line for appt /​non-​appt (
). When I went, it told me 43 minutes. That was approximately accurate from the time I got in line up until I saw the first clerk, who gives you a number and you continue to sit and wait for that number to be called while filling out other forms /​storybooks of personal info /​etc. For me, I was there from 1PM until nearly 3PM to handle a registration renewal issue. In the past, getting licensed /​tested /​filling out all the forms for completely new registration was a two morning affair. Good luck! Bring a book and a fully charged phone.

Absolutely the worst DMV ever. Not to mention that they are extremely understaffed, but they are not exactly efficient either.
The productivity of this dmv is just horrible. I see PEOPLE CLOSING THEIR WINDOWS TO CHAT WITH EACH OTHER. The line is bigger than waiting in line for a Justin Bieber Concert, except you are actually waiting in line to get in a line for something else. I got to the DMV around 7:45AM and I was out of there by 11AM. Only 10% of the people were actually willing to help. The rest just kind of deal with you, takes their sweet time till you leave the line.
I understand that DMVs are slow, but this is just a nightmare. It is extremely disappointing to see that my taxes are paying for this. Go to the DMV in daily city if you can, it’s a lot faster ;)

Three stars for wait time, each time I’ve been I’ve waited for the entry line for maybe 30 min. And waited at a seat for another 30 min. One hour isn’t bad for the DMV, could be worse.
But one star for the costumer service. To the one guy helping me… Sorry, you really hate your job, you don’t have to take it out on me. If you don’t take credit cards, just tell me nicely. You don’t have to be rude and point to a small sign that’s barely noticeable. And if I have a question a question, aren’t you there to help me answer it. Why do you have to look at me like I’m dumb?
So average out, I give 2 stars.

Todo el tiempo que vengo hacer mis tramites, me atienden amablemente aqui, y siempre es rapido el servicio.