(The Center Square) – Customer service improvements for the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles can begin with the agency’s independence from the Department of Transportation, a long-awaited audit says.
Customer service, inclusive of long wait times in offices, difficulty getting appointments, and behavior of staff, has long led the complaints about the agency handling licenses, identification cards, and vehicle titles and registrations. Offices that are understaffed and deal with high turnover in temporary positions run counter to a state that has grown to 11 million residents.
“It’s time to solve the DMV problem,” first-term Republican state Auditor Dave Boliek said Monday as he delivered on the campaign promise to thoroughly audit the division. “North Carolina has the will and the tools to make our DMV better. Our audit lays out some concrete steps to begin the process to fix the DMV.”
Analysis was provided on performance and information systems. The audit says “a dysfunctional relationship between DMV and DOT” exists, such that only two of 45 performance milestones for the last two years pertained to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Additionally, the audit said, only 31% of DMV staffing requests were included in the DOT budget requests; DOT left out of its performance report the DMV customer satisfaction data; and the DMV was excluded from planning and procurement phases of improvement efforts led by the DMV.
Average wait times at the DMV are 75 minutes, the report said. In fiscal 2025, nearly 14% of visits exceeded 2.5 hours.
In responses from employees, the audit said 43% had negative views of prior leadership support; average salaries are below $50,000 in urban and rural areas; and burnout, security, support and inadequate training were named concerns.
In Harnett County alone, there is one examiner serving 56,000 residents. Statewide, only 505 of 710 positions are filled.
In the information systems audit, Boliek’s team found 46 projects initiated since 2014 costing $42 million. It said mainframe systems “are outdated and overdue for replacement.”
Paul Tine, a former state lawmaker, was appointed commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles to succeed Wayne Goodwin in May. Goodwin began in January 2022. Torre Jessup served before Goodwin from July 2017.
Joey Hopkins was the appointee of former Gov. Roy Cooper to lead the Department of Transportation as secretary in October 2023 following the retirement of Eric Boyette. Boyette had led since February 2020. Before him, Jim Trogdon had served in the position since 2017 until his retirement.
