Contact: Office of Public Affairs
2415 First Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 657–6437 | dmvpublicaffairs@dmv.ca.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2019
Sacramento – The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will close its offices statewide for a half day on Wednesday, July 24, to better prepare employees to process REAL ID transactions and reinforce training on providing excellent customer service. All DMV field offices will open at 1 p.m.
Operation Excellence: DMV Training will provide more than 5,000 frontline staff at 183 DMV field offices, Commercial Drive Test Centers and Industry Business Centers throughout the state with detailed training and a toolkit they can utilize immediately for processing REAL ID licenses and identification cards in the field.
“As a result of Operation Excellence, Californians will see more consistent customer service statewide,” said Kathleen Webb, acting director at DMV. “This unprecedented training effort will provide employees with the tools they need to handle an increasingly high volume of REAL ID applications, which are more complex and take more time to process.”
The DMV already is experiencing unprecedented demand for its services because of a greater volume of REAL ID applications, which must be done in person in the field office and cannot be processed online or via mail. In addition, field offices are experiencing their normal summer surge of new drivers seeking licenses.
Beginning October 1, 2020, the federal government will require passengers flying within the United States to present a REAL ID-compliant driver license or identification card – or another federally approved document, such as a passport or passport card – before boarding a plane. REAL ID-compliant identification will also be required to enter secure federal facilities such as military bases.
On July 1, 2019, the DMV opened an additional 53 field offices early to handle the summer surge, bringing to 69 the total number of offices that open at 7 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to accommodate the increase in customers. The DMV also offers Saturday service at 62 offices.
Operation Excellence is an initiative of the DMV Reinvention Strike Team, which Governor Gavin Newsom created in January to lead a comprehensive modernization and reinvention of the DMV with an emphasis on transparency, worker performance, speed of service and overall consumer satisfaction. The Strike Team was created in response to long wait times in DMV field offices, which were exacerbated by the federal government’s REAL ID requirements.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS TO CONDUCT DMV BUSINESS:
DMV Contact Centers (1-800-777-0133) will remain open during the half-day office closure. Customers also will be able to:
- Conduct transactions online, at dmv.ca.gov, including renewing a vehicle registration, changing an address, requesting a copy of their driving record or making an appointment.
- Conduct transactions at DMV Now self-service kiosks located at grocery stores and select libraries, such as renewing a vehicle registration, filing for planned nonoperation (PNO) status, submitting an affidavit of non-use, submitting proof of insurance, and paying a $14 insurance reinstatement fee. Kiosks located within field offices will not be available. A map of kiosks can be found online: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/about/sst_map.
- AAA members may visit AAA offices to conduct some transactions, including vehicle registration renewal.
- Registration services also are available at California DMV Business Partners for a fee. Customers can search for partners with this online map: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/bp_locator/reg_svc.
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