CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Long wait times at some N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) offices are leading to frustration after some customers said they had appointments scheduled months in advance.
Appointments are now required for all services that need to be completed in a driver's license office.
Niesha Beckwith said she booked her appointment at the East Charlotte DMV location in February, and the first available appointment she could book was in April.
When Beckwith arrived at her appointment Wednesday, she was surprised to learn she would have to wait with dozens of people ahead of her in line.
"They said 'well, you have to get in line,'” Beckwith added. “I was like, 'but I have an appointment.' They told me to go to the back of the line, which when I got to the back of the line, there's like 60 people in front of me."
Beckwith said the number of people she would have to be in line with caused concerns about the risk of contracting COVID-19.
"It's anxious, you know, everyone's still dealing with is it safe yet? How many people can be in one space?” Beckwith said. “It's definitely not safe for that many people who don't know each other, don't live in the same household to be on top of each other that way."
Due to the number of people ahead of her line around her appointment time, Beckwith said she did not have the time to stay and wait.
"It's very frustrating because now I have to go and schedule another appointment at somewhere else, which will probably take another few months,” she added.
Doren Blake also scheduled an appointment back in February at the East Charlotte DMV location for April 7.
"Normally, these things if they're moving fast, take 30 minutes or so, and this one was closer to two and a half, almost three hours,” Blake said.
He said he wasn’t frustrated by his experience but would warn others to have some patience to stand in line, even with an appointment.
"It's not going to be a quick five minutes in and out, and definitely book it as early in the morning as you can,” Blake added.
NCDMV announced on March 29 that it expanded its online services and now customers can renew state-issued identification cards.
NCDMV already offers online access for many services, including driver license renewals, ordering duplicate licenses and ID cards, driving record requests, driver license office appointments, registration renewals, vehicle property tax payments, duplicate registration cards, ordering personalized and specialty plates, payment of insurance lapse fines, and applying for voter registration.
WCNC Charlotte has reached out to an NCDMV spokesperson for further clarification regarding wait times for appointments.