Department of Motor Vehicles

I had the unfortunate luck of being served by the idiot with a broken wrist today. My registration was a few days overdue/​suspended and I was there to renew my tags. Wrist lady told me I would not be able to leave with physical tags because the fee could only be paid by phone, not in person, although I could get temporary registration if I paid the dues and I would have to come back to get the tags. I asked if while I was waiting would I be able to to go online and pay the $ 14 fee so I wouldn’t have to take another day off work. She told me no. Well I did pay the fee online, and left with tags to her surprise. When I stopped by her Window so she could better serve the taxpayers with correct information she flipped. Sad. We pay your embarrassing salary lady, do better

After recently moving from Chicago to Valencia I need to get a California driver’s license. I made an appointment at the Newhall DMV location and everything ran smoothly from the time I arrived.
Ms Parks was pleasant and knowledgeable and actually quite entertaining and she helped me throughout the process even though I made some mistakes on my forms. I know the DMV has a somewhat negative reputation but my experience was outstanding and I will have no problem returning in the future.

Customer service at this DMV is seriously lacking. I was there today helping a relative get her senior citizen ID renewed. There was a long line to get to the woman who gives out information about what forms you need but we waited patiently and once we got to her I told her why we were there and she handed us a form and said to fill out the front and back and return it to her when we were done. I filled out the form but made a tiny mistake that I corrected. When I got back to the window and turned in the form, this woman tells me that she can’t accept the form because I made a mistake and I will have to fill out the form all over again. I made the mistake of asking her if she was kidding about not being able to read what I had corrected, which is what must have hurt her feelings and caused the psycho in her to come out and play, she said it was not readable and to fill out a new form So, my relative and I went back to the counter, filled out the form and returned to the unhappy employee who decided that she didn’t like me and was going to make me wait while she serviced everyone else. I finally just walked up to the window and handed her the form which upset her so much she decided to berate me and then tell me that she didn’t get paid enough to deal with people like me. My response to that was «lady, you’re way overpaid.» As I walked away from the window she continued berating me loud enough so that others nearby could hear.
Another miserable state employee who is being paid by our tax dollars and thinks she deserves to be paid more to jerk around the people who pay her salary.

Another wonderful government agency, have to love the cheery faces of the staff, so willing and happy to help, clearly they love their job…

The guy I had for my drivers test was very rude. He’s an older white male. At the end of my test he spoke to me then took some notes and told me rudely that I could get out now. It’s my car I should of told him he should of gotten out. He also failed me for making a right turn on a red light when a car that was very far away was coming and I had plenty of time to make the turn. He would sigh very loud when I would wait for cars or pedestrians to pass. He also was rude to my mother who was waiting outside the dmv and told her to go inside. He asked me if making a right on red is mandatory and I politely asked him to repeat the question. He got angry and then told me that when he told me to make a right on red I didn’t have to and I could of gone straight!!! Don’t go here for a drivers test they’ll give you a stupid reason on why you failed!

4 stars for a DMV? Unheard of right?! Yes. This is by far the best experience I’ve had at a DMV. I’ve been to the DMV in LA and Glendale and the wait there is horrible and the people that work there seem quite miserable. This one is actually really not that bad in waiting time and the people were quite friendly. So yes. This DMV is pretty awesome.

In and out pretty fast today taking care of a registration issue — in West L A it would’ve taken me much longer. Went at 4:15 and there were plenty of parking spaces, guess most of the appointments were done especially the ones that take a long time like getting a DL with the test. Walked into the info line, clerk gave me another form to fill out and in 10 minutes my number was called.
Previous time I also came here to renew my DL, that was earlier in the day and took a long time despite my having made an appointment and not having to take a written test — the lady who took the ID photo’s was b-​thy though, made me move my head into a low unflattering position, I think she was sadistic, gave me a double chin I don’t usually have =- that’s why not a 4, the lady today was fine.
3 is mainly for fact that it’s a smaller DMV and less crowded than the one in West L A or probably most of L A. This is a heavily Hispanic area and that’s the majority of customers.
However it’s a central location and if you don’t find parking you can park down the street.

Not sure how much money is wasted on the so called «security». I was there for over 2 hours, he was either talking on his phone, standing by entrance texting, or out back smoking. Unfortunately with the amount of customer’s that pass through, the staff are probably too busy to track him. Instead of helping control, areas, he is to preoccupied with his phone.
One lady had her phone on while taking driver’s examine asking questions, for the answer’s?
The clerks were friendly, and although time consuming, I left with what I needed.

I arrived at 9:50am for a 10 o’clock appointment. Missed two available parking spots to bad luck and I didn’t feel like driving in circles, so I parked down the block in the residential area.
The woman was nice and handed me the form for driver license renewal and told me to get back in the appointment line when done completing it. I then got a number and was called up in less than five minutes. The next woman who assisted me also seemed like she liked her job ;) though that’s where the fun stopped for me. Unfortunately, I was unable to renew due to not having my medical examination current on file for my Class B license. So, she was able to make me another appointment once I go get checked out (which is every two years).
The facilities are old and dated. The parking is no good. Plan ahead and make the appointment like many suggest. I suspect it’ll be a much more pleasant experience.

What a difference my experience was this last 2 times!
Employees were friendly and helpful!!!
Pleasantly surprised!!!

Self service registration renewal was backed up and, Zinders, an employee at DMV took the initiative and breezed everyone through the line.
Everyone was very appreciative and thankful for Zinders assistance! A1 to Zinders

OK. it’s the DMV what do you expect. They all have cranky attitudes and make you feel like you are inconveniencing them. That’s not my issue. My issue is they are disorganized and frankly don’t know what they are doing when this is their job. I went in on Tuesday for a change of ownership. I had all my papers filled out. I got in line and waited for the first b**** to give me a number so I told her what I needed to do and she grabbed my papers and told me they were not the papers I needed and tossed them. She handed me papers to register the vehicle again WHEN IT’S ALREADY REGISTERED HERE. Well here we go to fill out the papers, on top of that she says we need to pull the car to the side and get it verified. WHEN IT’S ALREADY REGISTERED HERE. so we wait 45 mins for our number to be called and finally when we get called the guy tells us that we didn’t need to do any of that. AND THAT WE NEED TO FILL OUT THE PAPERS THAT THE FRONT DESK IDIOT THREW AWAY. so a waste of my time. after that mess, it went smoothly
UNTIL
today I got a letter saying that my application was incomplete and to go back to this hell hole and finish filling out the papers.
what a bunch of f***ups

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT!
Arrived 15 minutes early for my appointment to get my license renewed, and was able to check in no problem. I had 2 people ahead of me before I was called. The lady that processed my license was nice and friendly, the lady who checked me in was friendly, and there was a short wait to get my photo taken. The lady doing the photos was also nice and friendly. The guy sitting next to her handling the driver tests also was nice. I was in and out in 15 minutes!!!
Parking in their lot is unheard of. Circled it 3 times and it was super full. Had to park down the street and walk, but I’ll take it in exchange for the short visit!

Came in today which is a Friday. I was in and out in 45 mins which is unheard of lol I was so surprised that it was that quick because I didn’t even have a appointment. Plenty of chairs and lots of employees to keep it flowing

Long lines, but not as long as van Nuys I have heard. Try getting an appointment if you can. Cuts waiting time in half. I went there on a fly and waited for a Tues after for 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes ensued and I was in the counter with an African American woman who was pleasant, likeable and patient with me while I do a name change in my license. Bring debit or check to pay. Short staffed on the test drivers, there was a long line of cars waiting for their turn. They have an automated machine for registration renewals and that has a line too. They might need another machine for thus purpose. They have now computerized driving test. over all, it was a pleasant but humdrum with the lines. Try to get there early!

Total time spent here: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Total time wanted to spend here: –1 000 000 minutes
They say it’s best to make an appointment, and boy are they right in this case! Sometimes things kinda pop up and you have to hold your breath and jump into the madness that we call the Department of Motor Vehicles.
I got here about 30 minutes before they opened, expecting it to be a mad house, but it far surpassed my expectations as the line outside wrapped around the front, side, and half of the back of the building. Once the doors opened up, the line moved up pretty quickly, but it was an hour and a half before I finally got to the counter. And then another two hours and forty five minutes of staring at the tv screens and waiting for my number to be called to be helped. In between that time the women’s toilet overflowed and the heat was turned off, so it was freezing in there!
I spoke with someone for about 5 minutes before I could finally escape the hell that is the Newhall DMV. I’ve never had to experience a different DMV so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but this place is horrible. The thought of having to come back here makes me want to cry. I will gladly pay money to not have to step foot even in this parking lot again.
Many of my fellow long-​waiting patrons became annoyed with the crappy wait too and walked up to ask what was going on with this madness, and I overheard things being said about less employees, blah blah blah. That is some bull right there, come on people! We all have to come to this hell hole eventually, put more people in there to help us all! Do all places need security because of disgruntled customers? That should tell you something…
PS The DMV does not accept credit cards; cash, check, or debit cards only.

3 words.
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
If you do, you’re golden. If not, well, you’re not too bright. Appointments are fast. Everything else is slow.

Usually very very busy but if you make an appointment you’ll get a date anywhere from 2 weeks to a month. The parking lot is small and a real pain to try to find a spot and maneuver around. The people taking their driver’s test are on the side of the building which also makes maneuvering more difficult lol.
Other than the city trying to cram the population of 204,000 into one small building and location. Lol its ok. There are lots of chairs and several desk spaces to fill out your paper work and now an updated testing area with cubicle like privacy and a self use registration kiosk. The staff is always friendly never had an issue. Woman at the first desk was very pleasant.
Cmon SCV get a bigger DMV please!

So here’s something most of you probably already knew: You can’t just walk into a DMV on the day your license expires and expect to be issued a new one without any hassle. I’d gotten the notice letting me know I couldn’t renew by mail this time around, but I didn’t bother to think about what this meant until a few days before my birthday.
I have a January birthday, and as some of you may know, California started allowing undocumented immigrants to get driver’s licenses at the beginning of this year. This is a lovely thing – no one benefits from roads full of unlicensed drivers – it just had the unfortunate side effect of clogging every DMV in the L.A. area at the exact time I needed to go. If only my marginal convenience had been considered in constructing this government policy.
My husband started hearing about people camped out at DMVs overnight, and I decided it was time to see about an appointment. I called one of the DMVs close to me and couldn’t even get through to a person on the phone. Hold times were hours long, long enough that I felt confident my call would get lost along the way. I tried to book appointments at DMVs all across L.A. and couldn’t find any availability in the entire month of January. A few locations were booked through February and well into March. Then, my husband thought of Newhall – I hadn’t even heard of this suburb, but we booked an appointment for the day after my birthday, so I’d only have one day’s existence as an unlicensed driver. (Which was plenty, by the way. It feels weird to know you have to drive, but not have a driver’s license. Do you know who’s actually hurt by having a bunch of unlicensed drivers on the road? The unlicensed drivers, sure, but also all the unlicensed ones. Who wants a bunch of nervous people who haven’t been certified zooming across our freeways?)
I was very thankful for this appointment, as well as for the ample parking, the organized check-​in system, and the short wait (there was a long line for walk-​ins). I’d arrived early and was processed and out of there with my provisional license before my appointment time had even arrived. Everyone I dealt with was super pleasant and helpful. There was nothing even remotely nightmarish about this errand.
I hope I never have to trek back to the Newhall DMV ever again, but I was happy with my experience. Now I’m back on the road with a brand new license, legally ready to menace.

People who work for government offices are usually the worst at customer service. I’ve had almost 15 years of work experience dealing with them, and trust me, usually, its not pretty. However, on this particular visit, I was pleasantly surprised.
I came in because I was having problems with my registration. I hadn’t gotten a notice for renewal in the mail in 2 years. Turns out they had my old address, even though I changed it online a year ago. So I came in hoping someone would have some common sense and compassion. I was not disappointed. I came up to the window and Diana helped me out. She waived a fee for me and she didn’t have to. Thanks, Diana, I really appreciate it. She also mentioned that soon the DMV would stop sending renewal notices and it will be our responsibility to pay our fees on time. Regardless of how silly this sounds to me and lots of other people, it may be an inevitable reality, so, head’s up.
Btw, I figured a morning arrival would yield the shortest wait time but I couldn’t make it in until about 345pm. The whole process only took about 20 mins or so. I was in and out a lot faster than expected. Sadly, though, parking at this location sucks. It’s a very small lot so I ended up having to park on the street a block away. But that’s probably my only gripe. I would strongly suggest never to call the 800 # for the DMV. They have never helped me much and the wait times usually hover around an hour. They told me the same thing here and recommended I just come in person in the future. And with the short wait times and friendly service at this location, that’s exactly what I’ll do.