DMV switching to appointment-only business model

Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle offices are ditching most walk-in services effective next week.

Monday will see the DMV switch to appointments only for those needing to conduct an in-person weekday visit, the department announced Wednesday.

Staff shortages and increased customer demand at DMV offices prompted the move. On top of that there has been a decrease in customers using online services, despite the DMV making more transactions available on the web

“We have seen an actual decrease in use of our online services at the same time we’re facing an ongoing staffing shortage,” DMV Deputy Director Tonya Laney said in a statement. “The switch to appointments only is the best way to encourage Nevadans to go online while efficiently serving the customers who must come in.”

To reduce any issues that may arise for those needing to make an in person office visit, the four Las Vegas Valley locations are adding a total of 4,000 new appointments per week.

The only walk-ins that will be accepted are for vehicle movement permits, license plate drop-offs, driver’s license reinstatements, past-due debts, kiosk transactions and vehicle inspections.

Walk-in services on Saturdays will remain as is. Offices open on Saturdays will continue to issue return tickets for all transactions until they reach capacity.

There has been a 2.4 percent decrease in the usage of online and alternate DMV services between July 2021 and June 2022, compared to the same period a year earlier, DMV data indicated.

The DMV estimates 200,000 transactions are done in person per year that could be carried out online.

In-person vehicle registrations and registration renewals were the main transaction made last year that could have been done online. The majority of vehicles purchased from a Nevada dealer can be registered online. Despite that, just 47 percent of those eligible are doing so.

Registrations can be renewed 35 days before they expire and driver’s licenses can be renewed six months before they expire.

“And don’t wait until the expiration date to renew,” Laney said. “Think ahead and make an appointment.”

Additionally, if customers cannot make a previously scheduled appointment the DMV asks them to cancel it. That allows that time slot to be utilized by another motorist.

There are 108 vacant positions in the DMV field services division and 196 total in the department.

A pair of field services training academies are being held for about 35 new employees, but hiring and training new staffers won’t occur over night. Anyone interested in employment with the DMV can submit a resume at dmv.nv.gov/jobs.

The DMV is still in the early stages of a $114 million effort to expand its online services database. The new services will be gradually rolled out over the next several years.

“We really need your cooperation,”Laney said. “Visit us online first. Don’t just grab your paperwork and head to an office.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.