The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is expanding its weekday hours at a majority of offices.
Beginning April 7, an additional 42 DMV offices will open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, according to the DMV. The expanded hours come as many people rush to get their REAL ID before the May 7 deadline, and new slots for these early morning appointments are already booked.
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DMV commissioner Wayne Goodwin said the extended hours mean 80% of the state's 115 DMV driver license offices will now stay open 10 hours per day.
Fifty DMV offices were already offering extended hours, including most DMV offices in Wake, Durham and Orange counties Among the offices with new extended hours are the Siler City office in Chatham County, the Smithfield office in Johnston County and the Sanford office in Lee County. See hours for all the state's DMV offices and check wait times online.
Martha Martinez was in line Monday in Smithfield for a license renewal.
"I’ve had to miss school. I brought my son with me this morning so he can get an ID as well. But they’ve just given me the run around," she said.
Martinez said this is her fifth time trying the DMV in two weeks.
"It’s just annoying because I’m used to walking in and out, not waiting for four hours," she said. "Last time, I waited from about 10 a.m. to about closing time in Clayton."
This summer, 20 DMV offices will offer walk-in services with no appointment required on Saturdays between June 7 and Aug. 23. Some of those locations include:
- Clayton, 1665 Old U.S. Highway 70
- Durham East, 101 S. Miami Blvd.
- Fayetteville, 831 Elm St.
- Raleigh East - 4121 New Bern Ave.
- Raleigh West - 3231 Avent Ferry Road
WRAL 5 On Your Side has tracked complaints against the DMV for years, but viewer complaints about DMV delays are at an all-time high. Right now, there are three factors contributing to backlogs -- in-person license renewals, staffing shortages and the deadline to get a REAL ID. Only about 50% of North Carolinians have their REAL ID with the May 7 deadline just one month away.
WRAL 5 On Your Side reports North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, who oversees the DMV, is currently interviewing a replacement for Goodwin.
In February, after the state posted an opening for DMV commissioner, Goodwin said he would not reapply. During his tenure -- Goodwin has led the DMV since 2022 – the DMV has been plagued by complaints about slow service.
The agency is also planning to replace its software after Hopkins said some of the NCDMV technology is 30 years old.
“[The] bottom line is there are a lot of things we’ve got to fix,” Hopkins said. “We have people waiting too long, people can’t get appointments, we just have a lot of issues on the driver’s license side, we have a lot of employees that are working hard, but they’re frustrated too. The systems aren’t keeping up, and it’s just frustrating to everybody."