CHARLOTTE, N.C. — As 2023 comes to a close, Friday was the last day the DMV was open for the year, which meant hundreds of people had to get there before the North Carolina laws changed.
Some people waited for over two hours to be seen, and others were turned away because of the lengthy wait times.
For some people, it was the last chance to get a DMV errand done before laws change in 2024. Scott Rowe is one of the people who had to make time for it today since his son had to take his driver's test.
Rowe had to squeeze it in before 2024 because, come Jan. 1, most new drivers will add an extra few months of learning and supervised driving before getting their license.
"The amount of time you have your permit before you license, that time is changing from six months to nine months," DMV spokesperson Marty Homan said.
Homan said, for the last 25 years, it's been mostly set at 12 months of supervised driving.
"During COVID, it was shortened to six months," Homan explained. "That expired at the end of last year, and in early 2023, it went back to 12 months."
Homan said following the change back to 12 months, there was a lot of pushback from people toward the North Carolina Legislature.
The new law requires new drivers to have a learner's permit for nine months. That would push Rowe's son's test back to March 2024 instead of Friday.
“I’m tired of driving him to his sports practices at night, so that’s the benefit of having his license," Rowe said.
The DMV reopens on Jan. 2, 2024.
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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