‘Urgent need for improvements' discussed at NCDMV press conference with Gov. Josh Stein
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Website upgrades, better pay, new positions and more efficient processes were some of the promises made by Gov. Stein and NCDMV Commissioner Paul Tine Friday morning as they addressed the widespread issues being felt by customers.
They joined Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins at the agency's East Raleigh office to highlight the 'urgent need for improvements' amid statewide challenges and what the future looks like.
The press conference began with Sec. Hopkins inviting a DMV customer named Jocelyn to share her personal experience getting her daughter her driver's license. After driving over an hour to make it to the DMV office, she said she pleaded with staff after standing in line outside so long that her feet swelled.
She was not only advocating to get them a seat, but to also come in and out of the rain to be helped before they closed. They were the last people served that day, Jocelyn said.
As the NCDMV's new leader, Commissioner Tine said there is 'no shortage of opportunities to improve in the department.'
As part of a 'Team DMV' plan, Tine said he visited many offices from the mountains to the coast to see where improvements are most needed to make the offices function better for North Carolinians. In that time, he said he observed issued from systems and processes to the physical facilities.
At the core, however, he said a great need is making sure staff have what they need from compensation to resources.
'I want us to become a premiere customer service organization and to do that we need to empower our frontline staff,' he added.
With a long way to go and many changes yet to be made, Tine said this is just the tip of the iceberg. The future, he said will focus on these four pillars: service, efficiency, agility and accountability.
Gov. Stein said stories like Jocelyn's should be unique, but are not. Her story resembles thousands of others, he said.
In addition to prioritizing raising pay for the state's DMV examiners, Gov. Stein said efforts are underway to simplify the agency's website and to ramp up efficiency as soon as this summer by creating 85 new positions.
See which NCDMV offices are starting Saturday summer hours this weekend
'The DMV is not political. It's about service — service to the people of North Carolina,' the governor said.
CBS 17 asked what tangible changes customers can see in these next few days and weeks.
Commissioner Tine said the first round of changes can already be seen on the DMV website and encourages people to take a look. Off the top, he pointed to their homepage which directs people to a few questions which can help people determine if that need a Real ID right now. It also displays the message that REAL ID is 'completely optional.'
As they work to address a lot of issues head-on, all at once, the commissioner said if people do not have an urgent need for something today, to not come to an office right now.
Also coming soon to DMV offices will be changes that target the way appointments are processed and the efficiency of training individuals conducting road tests.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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