How long is the wait at NC DMV offices in the Triangle? Here are the times
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- Statewide DMV wait times average 2 hours, 45 minutes, according to new data.
- Cary had the longest average wait at over 5 hours; Jefferson had the shortest wait.
- DMV plans to hire 97 new examiners by 2026 to ease delays and improve staffing.
Customers at Division of Motor Vehicles driver’s license offices statewide wait to be served an average of 2 hours and 45 minutes once they’ve checked in.
But the average wait time varies greatly by office, from as little as 12 minutes to more than five hours, according to data provided to McClatchy by the DMV.
The data covers 28 days ending Sept. 8 and includes 107 driver’s license offices with the agency’s new check-in system. The clock starts when a customer signs in, so time waiting before they encounter a DMV employee or before the office opens is not counted.
The Cary office had the longest average wait time, at 5 hours and 10 minutes. The shortest average wait was in Jefferson in rural Ashe County, at 12 minutes, 23 seconds. At 29 offices, people waited an average of more than three hours.
The DMV has only recently had what it considers accurate data on the length of time people wait to be served at its offices, said Paul Tine, the commissioner. The new check-in system, rolled out this summer, provides that data, Tine said, showing that the average wait statewide was 2 hours and 45 minutes.
“Which is not anywhere near where we need to be,” he said. “Our vision is to be a like a bank. You show up, you might have a 15-minute wait, have a 15-minute transaction, a 10-minute transaction, and you’re on your way.”
As of now, the only office with a 15-minute wait is in Jefferson.
Here are the averages for other Triangle offices, rounded to the nearest minute:
- Carrboro: 2 hours, 52 minutes
- Clayton: 3 hours, 49 minutes
- East Durham (South Miami Boulevard): 2 hours, 49 minutes
- South Durham (Hope Valley Commons): 3 hours, 49 minutes
- Fuquay-Varina: 1 hour, 19 minutes
- Hillsborough: 2 hours, 55 minutes
- Raleigh East (New Bern Avenue): 1 hour, 29 minutes
- North Raleigh (Spring Forest Road): 3 hours, 27 minutes
- West Raleigh (Avent Ferry Road): 2 hours, 50 minutes
- Smithfield: 4 hours, 15 minutes
- Wendell: 3 hours, 16 minutes.
Smaller, more rural offices tend to have the shortest wait times; most of the 17 offices averaging less than an hour wait are in towns with fewer than 10,000 residents.
But there are exceptions. Among the offices where customers wait longer than four hours are ones in Mocksville, with about 6,200 residents, and Marshall, with fewer than 1,000.
Staffing levels are likely a factor in wait times, said DMV spokesman Marty Homan. A smaller office with a worker out sick or on leave may struggle to keep up with demand, for example.
But the data is new, and the DMV is still trying to determine what contributes to longer wait times in some offices compared to others, Homan said.
“We are exploring how to leverage this data to enhance staff support and coaching,” he wrote in an email.
Under the new check-in process, a customer should be greeted shortly after they arrive. They’re signed in and immediately sent a text message with a link that tells them how many people are waiting ahead of them. They are then free to go wait elsewhere. When there’s a seat for them in the lobby, they will receive a text telling them to return to the office and wait to be called.
The DMV says the system has helped eliminate lines outside the building and should discourage people from showing up hours before an office opens.
“Our streamlined check-in process ensures quick check-in and then folks can wait from anywhere until it is their turn,” Homan wrote. “So arriving before 7 a.m. is discouraged.”
The DMV expects wait times will ease as it hires more driver’s license examiners and comes closer to fully staffing its offices.
This summer, the General Assembly authorized the department to hire an additional 64 license examiners statewide this year and an added 33 next year. That will provide one worker for each computer terminal in the agency’s 115 existing offices and four new ones that it plans to open in the coming years.
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 5:15 AM with the headline "How long is the wait at NC DMV offices in the Triangle? Here are the times."
