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Comment by Sohcahtoa82 | Hacker News Reader

I've found that the speed of the DMV seems to vary wildly by state, and possibly even city and location, based on anecdotes.

Earlier this year, my license was expiring and I decided to get a Real ID. I was able to create an appointment on the Oregon DMV website. It was set for 10 AM. I got there at 9:50 and checked in. My name was called up at only a couple minutes after my appointment time. I gave my documents and paid, then was instructed to wait by the camera area for my picture. I had barely sat down when my name was called. They took my picture, and I was all set. I was out the door by 10:15. Pretty sure my ID then came in the mail only about a week later.

So when people talk about long waits, I don't know what they're talking about. Maybe their state just sucks.

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In Oregon the DMV is state run with all the benefits that go with it. the DMV is quiet, calm, smooth, and moves quickly even during lunch hour. When I moved back the DMV had an easy process (that staff helped me complete) to update my info and register everything + get a photo ID. I was in an out over lunch (with lunch still included) and everything was mailed in a week.

In Washington the DMV is split between licensing people and licensing cars/etc (2 locations), plus separate emissions testing locations. It's all contracted out with private companies providing staff and services. Last cycle, it took me over 3 hours to update my ID and registration.

Later, one of these places overcharged me on registration of a new car bought out of state. One near my last apartment in Seattle was running a credit card fraud scheme. Some may not have staff when you need them.

Turns out that when you support and fund the program, the government can do a pretty good job. You can, in fact, pay someone to care.

It can also depend on where you are within the state.

When I lived in Colorado the smart move in Denver was to start lining up about an hour before the DMV opened (for driver licenses, car registration never had much of a line). Out in the mountains, I was able to just walk in just about anytime. The longest wait I had in the small mountain town I lived in was when the one lady working there was doing a driving test, and I had to wait 10 minutes for her to get back.

Living in Washington, they allow private businesses to register vehicles, so transferring a car was normally a 5 minute job. Never did bother to switch my DL, so can't comment on that.

Now I'm up in BC where vehicle and driver licensing is handled by the state owned insurance monopoly. Any agent, private or public, can register your car. You can get the licensing done at public insurance offices, or at provincial service centres that handle all sorts of business by appointment or walk in. It all works pretty well.

When was this? I lived in Denver 2015-2021 and the DMV was always quick when I went.

This was mid-late 2000s. Probably also dependent on which office.

When I got my license they told me that if I had time it would be faster to drive down to the springs than to wait at the Denver office.

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