MVA – Gaithersburg

I have never felt so disrespected and verbally attacked by a MVA employee in my entire life (and I don’t use either of those terms lightly). I’d rather not relive or recount this experience in such a public forum, but I would just recommend going to another branch. It’s really not worth it.

I made an appointment through MVA website about driver license for 1pm today. After I checked in at the MVA information desk I was assigned a call number which was called up RIGHT AWAY. I think they processed the appointments with higher priority.
So, make an appointment if you can.
(Note: during my recent visits I saw much fewer people waiting in MVA in PM than in AM. So if you can not make an online appointment, try to go in the afternoon)

This place is the worst. Employees are extremely rude, half the time they don’t talk to you and always have a conversation going on with another employee. It’s super disorganized and no one ever knows what to do. Do whatever you have to do to avoid come to this location. It’s just a nightmare and headache.

Coming from Florida, the MVA (DMV back in FL) here in MD felt like a dream… as far as attitudes go… on the license side. The front desk lady was very nice with me and was happy to assist me. The lady who helped me process my new license was very nice as well and even carried out a conversation with me with a smile. The manager who came over to double check all the details was extremely welcoming as well.
I still have some title, registration crap to take care of at a later date so I figured I would drop by the information desk to double check the current information I have available. As it got closer to my turn I noticed that one of the ladies at the desk had a terrible tone/​attitude to some of the people ahead of me. I prayed that she wouldn’t assist me… but luck was not on my side today. The moment I got up to the desk I already saw the disgust in her face… I told her my situation and asked if the form was filled out correctly and she simply glanced at it and said yes. Blah blah. ended up telling her that she is not very helpful and walked away from her.
You can’t win them all, but my experience on the licensing side went smoothly. Hope I don’t see that old hag of a B again the next time I go in to take care of registration, tag, and title.

Third time coming here to try and get a Maryland driver’s license. Transferring from another state.
I presented the following documents to get a Maryland driver’s license. For the record, my license is clean (miraculous, in fact) and everything else is up to date.
1) Valid US passport
2) Lease contract
3) Utility bill
4) health care card with proof of residence
5) Geico proof of insurance
6) Geico proof of address
7) 1099 stating I live in maryland
8) phone bill with proof of residence
9) W2
10) Drivers license from other state (2^nd piece of proof that I indeed look like me)
Unfortunately, I was denied. Why?
Because my 1099 said «BRAD» instead of «BRADLEY». Every other form of information said Bradley. They don’t accept GEICO forms. Second-​rate company, apparently.
First off, there has never been a stricter system in place for acceptance, anywhere. We’re not talking about getting onto the Virgin Galactic! I’m not asking for clearance into the NSA. IT’S MARYLAND. MARYLAND. A state where if you want to buy whiskey, beer, and groceries, you have to go to three different stores. It’s not New York. It’s not California. It’s Maryland.
If there was a legal way around it, I would just avoid this establishment altogether. But until someone like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos comes along and privatizes the ever-​so-​antiquated DMV or MVI or whatever the hell Maryland decides to call it, I will just have to bite the bullet like everyone else.
But if those in power are reading this — establishments like this will all be nothing but past-​time horror stories in time. The government has allowed policies to become ridiculous, overly-​lengthy, and archaic and nobody has to perform above average because you can’t get fired in the government! So DMV employees couldn’t care in the slightest if they made your day a fraction easier. They’re cruising through life at 12 mph with a diet coke in their yeti cup. Someone will come along. And if it’s not me, it’ll be somebody. Keep cruising.

If I Can give them –5 I will they are very unorganized the customer service is mediocre I had to pay for a service that was supposed to be done and taking care of by their staff 2 times in a year and nobody can explain what happened at all. There should be something done about this this been ongoing for years if I had a choice I would never come here at all.

MVAs are notorious for their crappy experiences… and the Gaithersburg MVA is no exception.
In the future, when they will be automated cars providing ride share for everyone and there´s no longer any use in license service, the Gaithersburg MVA surely has a spot waiting for it in Dante´s Ninth Circle.
The surly employees here hate their job, and I certainly do not blame them because most of the patrons here come in with a terrible mindset.
I think it was Uncle Phil from Fresh Prince of Bel-​Air who said the following: Attitude is everything.
The MVA offers more than just car services; it teaches you how to wait.
The MVA taught me the following activities to past the time and wait patiently:
1) Make up back story about the customers of the MVA
The MVA bring all types of people together: rich, poor, old, young, children, adolescents, Latinos, Indians. There are not many places that can boast a diverse such a diverse crowd. Think about all the inspiration. You can deduct stories for every customer. You can brainstorm the relationship between that hot girl with that ugly looking guy. ¨Are they friends? Are they siblings? Was he her über driver to the MVA?¨ You can wonder about the journey the Mexican family took to come to America, evading border patrol and future-​president Donald Trump.
2) Bring a book
Books are great. I brought Game of Thrones book 1. I was on page 200. By the time I left, I was on page 300. It was great. I must have read through six sexual intercourse and two deaths.
3) Talk to the fresh Chinese person waiting next to you
Chinese people are known for their rich wisdom and Confucian-​like sayings. They can offer great advice about how to get through the crappiness of life such as eating MSG drenched General Tso´s Chicken. This one time, I asked the Chinese person next to me about great restaurants that offer authentic Chinese food. He told me how he was so excited to come to America and how he is still amazed everyday by the richness of America and the kindness of everyone. He was smiling throughout his entire wait.
4) Use your Smartphone
MVAs offer free wifi. I guess you can catch up Facebook stalking that cute Starbucks barista you should have asked out so that next time you go there, you can boast how much you two have in common.
The MVA offers many possibilities. Don´t come in thinking that you are wasting your time. Think of it as added time, an opportunity to do one of the aforementioned activities.
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With all that being said, if I have not convinced you about the time earned at the MVA,
go online and see if there are other ways to get what you need done. They have kiosks in the MVA and the MVA express. Kiosks provide an innumerable amount of your basic services.
If you can´t go to a kiosk, see if you can go to the MVA express. Then if you have to go to the MVA, just come early, prick. The MVA opens at 8:30 everyday (but Sunday) so be there at 8:00 a.m.

I would give 0 stars if I could. Extremely inefficient staff! Most frustrating experience I’ve ever had, and they don’t seem to care because it’s a service everyone needs!
Helpful hint– if they tell you they have not received any of your paperwork for tags etc, don’t let it go because they may have just overlooked it which is what happened in my case. They had it for more than three weeks and I kept going back to check they would «look» for it and tell me it had not been received.
After tracking with the dealership, it showed it had been received and signed for. They never answered me when I asked twice (in person!) why they had said they didn’t have my paperwork.
I must be invisible or something…

The line at the manual testing VEIP station on redland road was very long even at 7 a. m on a Saturday. I had read about the self serve Kiosk here at the Gaithersburg MVA office and drove here.
Its a kiosk on the side of the building and is well marked. No tech skills necessary but I would advice you to get familiar to know where your 2005 and later model car has the diagnostic post. You use a touchscreen to enter your information from the emission notice you receive and scan the bar code. A compartment oepns and gives you a wifi diagnostic tool. You connect it to the dianostic port in your car. For a 2007 Toyota it was below the steering under the dash. It took me 2 tries to locate it. Once you are connected you start the car and while the eninge is running the kiosk screen shows you the progress and lets uou know if you pass and gives you a certificate.
Kudos to MVA for this. As it was early in the morning on a Saturday, sadly there were no food trucks to reiew during this visit ;)

Wow have things improved here since I last went. License renewals are quick and streamlined quite efficiently, credit cards are accepted without a surcharge, and the staff are nice. As for the people, it seems they are much more prepared with their documentations when going in for services which makes things astronomically better.
One of the key standouts here is that there are yellow kiosks that could take care of of your needs electronically (such as your registration). I think this is fantastic since you don’t have to wait in an extremely long line for services besides your driver’s license. Kudos to MVA for listening to customer feedback!

Everyone at the MVA was infinitely patient with my bizarre situation of records/​going out of the country/​trying to land a license at the age of 28. Even though I did get bounced around from counter to counter, every single person was trying to help and doing their best. Some even went beyond the call of duty:
–the examiner-​in-​charge who helped me navigate the MVA hierarchy… over… and over… and over… while expidiating the line at the same time!
–the law test guy who understood my dilemma and made the appropriate calls to get me in the right situation
–to the driving instructor who was firm but fair, and funny (i could actually focus on driving instead of feeling like they were out to fail me!)
–to the supervisor who told me EXACTLY what to do and personally made sure I walked out with a license after the endless tests and phone calls.
Seriously, I’m almost GLAD that MVAs have such bad reputations– I walked in with low expectations and was blown by how passionate everyone was about their job: helping confused people like me become a safe, certified driver. A+ everyone.

Checked that I had the right documents on the website but couldn’t find the «Make an Appointment» button. It’s on there somewhere because it made my last appointment ridiculously easy. Anyway, the wait times online were reading between 0 and the 10 minutes so I decided to take a chance on it anyway.
2.5 hours later, I’m still here waiting. The Vehicle Services desk kept the line moving at a reasonable rate, but the counters are insufficiently staffed to move people through.
Had to circle the lot several times for parking before driving a little way down the road for street parking. Wish there were more locations with the ability to do out-​of-​state vehicle registration.

This MVA is the worst. Ten minutes before five o’clock ¾ of the counter staff stopped working. They started conversing among themselves and milling around although there were waiting customers. If only each had taken one of the four customers left, they would have expended far less energy than trying to dodge the customers. Saaaaaadddd!

Worst customer service ever! As a formerr comcast and current verizon customer– that’s saying something. I went in to renew and update my license– should be fairly routine right? Oh we’d only think so… In fact I waited an hour to get a number only to be told I’d have to come back on Monday. Then after cutting me off and talking over me the extremely rude girl behind the counter kept changing the information as if she didn’t really know whether she was giving accurate information or not. At one point she actually insinuated that I could drive with an expired license?!? As if she didn’t know it’s illegal to do so. Then she suggested I wait until the next expiration date– in 5 years– to update my info. As I’m sure it’s acceptable and according to that girl encouraged to have inaccurate state issued identification.
Unfortunately all residents of Maryland are stuck with this institution so they see no need to employee knowledgeable and courteous employees…

I showed the guy at the information desk my car title and not only did he look at it backwards, he didn’t know what it was.
Also tons of «employees» who sit around instead of doing their jobs, thus ensuring you will have at least an hour long wait at any time of day, on any day,
F this place.

I’m giving five stars today after many years of being tortured by the wait here only because I think I finally figured out how to break the torture system.
1– check the MVA website and make SURE you have ALL of the documents required plus a couple of extras just in case. Example– last time I went, they would not accept my electric bill as proof of residency because my name was missing one S. So Jessica was spelled jesica so NO DICE.
2. They open at 8:30 am. GET THERE BY 8am.
3. Once you arrive, make sure you stand in the correct line. One line is for licensing, one line is for tags.
4. Research the website for things you can actually do online so you don’t even have to go to MVA. Now you can renew many things online — even your drivers license and tags!
5. Treat the employees how you want to be treated. They have a tough job too.
6. Research what you can do at the kiosks there on your own such as returning plates. Again this will keep you out of the long lines.
If everyone goes prepared and knows what lines to go to or does what they can online, this place will get you in and out quickly.
I arrived at 8am. I was 40^th in line at the license line. I was in and out in less than an hour. Not bad for the MVA.

A trip to your local motor vehicle authority is not expected to be a fun trip — something that you will mention in your year end family review. But this location of the MVA does know how to make the pain more palatable.
The service desk does a good job in reviewing all your documents before handing you a service ticket number. This was good for me as I was missing a couple of documents and was saved the pain of waiting for my number to be called only to be sent back home. I did have to come back a second time but this time I did not have to wait in line to get a ticket :)
The wait to be serviced was the same like other locations — i.e. one hour, but the service after that was quick, efficient, and courteous. There, I used those three words in one sentence to say something good about the MVA! But I cannot lie :)
I know the thought of going to the MVA gives most folks goose bumps, but my experience here was better than expected. Now if the total process took under an hour, then I would have bumped up my review to 4 stars!

Avoid coming here.
I hate hate coming to this MVA.
Everytime i come here its an hour or 2 hours wait.
Then on top of that if you didnt bring the right papers it would make customers even more mad that they wasted there time and have to come back again.
The employers are helpful but its ridiculous. and they also seem like they hate the place too they never have a smile on there face.
Go to the one in frederick save more time but its worth the ride

There is nothing positive to say about this place. Its operated by morons… First reality check… You have to wait in line to get in line to be seen at the window… They have like 30 stations yet only 5 actual people working the windows… They use the whole alphabet with numbers… and trust and believe you will wait… Majority of the people that work here are rude… no matter how much of an A** kisser you can be… ⁹⁄₁₀ you probably will have to come back to straighten out title and tag issues… The only exciting thing I like I about coming here is that I can always get a good Spanish meal from the taco trucks…
Oh yeah, dont even come on Saturdays, its almost as bad as waiting in line to get the latest Jordans or Iphone!
If you plan on taking your drivers test, I suggest going to the country… where the you see green pastures and cows grazing and mooing as you make your way to the MVA in Frederick… better yet, just take your needs there. People are more pleasant, less waiting and for some reason, there is a higher chance that you will pass your road test in Frederick that Gaithersburg.

It’s hard to be a fan of the MVA or more widely known in other states as the (DMV). But I have to tell you, my last visit was fairly straightforwards and definitely earned them 4 stars.
I waited in the preliminary line for about 15 – 20 minutes. 10 minutes into standing in line another MVA worker jumped in and started blasting through people with a voracious appetite for work. I get to the front and they tell me that since I have an unpaid parking ticket, I wouldn’t be able to renew my registration till it was paid.
This is obviously not the MVA’s fault. This is my stupid fault. Why is it that there is something SO hard about paying parking tickets on time. SO HARD. I think it’s because they don’t call you and say «hey Jerk-​bag, you haven’t paid your parking ticket, I’m turning your car off.» See when the cable people do that, I react fairly quickly. I’m like, OH NO! Game of thrones is on ! We need cable!
This guy in line at one point turned back to me to kvetch about how long the line was taking and I just gave an awkward nod and chuckled cause he didn’t look like someone I wanted to disagree with. One of those people who you instantly think (you may have a couple of bodies buried in your basement/​garage/​backyard).
In any event, after that creepy MVA customer spoke with me, it was off to talk to the MVA woman at the front and she informed me about the ticket. Gave me the number to call and the fax number to send the proof of payment too. She told me that once I got all this stuff to come back to her without standing in line.
That’s fair– though when I did finally get all of this taken care of. Spent 30 minutes on the phone paying the right people, –Story Insert–
So I’m on the phone with the Montgomery County Police people and they’re like, oh — I’m sorry you’re gonna have to come in person to pay this ticket. It’s been past x many days and we need money in either a cashiers check or cash. I was like… what are you guys the mafia? I didn’t actually say that, but I complained. I got transferred to another number which happened to be an automatic payment line– paid my ticket through that– then was put on the phone with someone who could fax over proof of the payment. If I had listened to this first lady — this whole process would have been slowed down for about an hour and a half– with me needing to drive 30 minutes away to pay a parking ticket in person. THANK G-​D that this did not happen!
–Story Insert End–
So I waited 30 minutes for the fax to be sent with proof of payment. Apparently the Montgomery County Police Department was using a fax hooked up to a morse code machine. I went back to this lady — who was not there– and waited for the guy who was there (This is the preliminary line– I am not yet through the preliminary line) — as about 20 people gave me this death stare like «don’t even try to cut in line.» Granted I was there giving the same stare to a man an hour and a half earlier as he went back after his tasks given by the front desk were completed.
This is very confusing I know. I wish I had a diagram for you all, alas I do not. So, I finally get my number after about an hour, sit next to someone else who is kvetching about waiting and get on my laptop and do some work.
My number is called and I go up and they give me my new registration sticker and I ball out of there.
Yes it took me 2 hours and something minutes. Yes, I had to wait in line. I just think this place would be a whole lot less miserable if people there didn’t think that this was a therapy session for their problems with the MVA. Come with something to do laptop/​book/​etc and wait. If you don’t expect to wait a little at the MVA– you’re just #SillyVilleUSA. They have everyone’s cars in the area to do work for, they’re busy people.