Pineville has a secret DMV + other time-saving hacks
Going to the DMV doesn’t have to crush your soul: Make an appointment, and know when and where to go
by Michelle Crouch
Note: This article originally appeared in the Oct. 4, 2019, edition of the Charlotte Ledger, a morning e-newsletter with original local news. Sign up for free:
I didn’t have a DMV horror story until last week, when I took my 16-year-old daughter Stella to get her driver’s license. I thought I had done everything right — made an appointment weeks in advance, arrived early and made sure we had all the correct documents.
But the DMV employee didn’t like the way my daughter had recorded some of her driving time, so he sent us to the waiting area to redo her driving log. It took almost an hour.
When we gave the employee the new log, he took a minute to look it over. Then he said, “Sorry, we don’t do road tests past 4 p.m.”
It was 4:01.
Stella, frustrated, burst into tears. But the employee wouldn’t budge.
That’s how we ended up waiting in line for three hours at the DMV on Arrowood Road on a Saturday morning.
Wait time data: To spare Ledger readers the same fate, we requested data on wait times so we could find out which locations have the shortest waits. But the DMV tracks only the time spent waiting after you check in — and waiting to check in can be the big hold-up: At the Arrowood DMV last week, we waited outside the office for almost three hours before we checked in and then about 40 minutes once we got inside.
After checking in, here were the average wait times on a recent week at Charlotte-area DMVs:
The data does offer some guidance on the best time and days to go to the DMV. We used that data, talked to DMV employees and crowd-sourced friends to compile these tips to help you get through the DMV with your sanity intact.
Important: Do whatever it takes to get an appointment…
An appointment means you can walk past all those folks sweating it out in line to check-in and go right up to the desk. It’s a nice feeling, like having TSA PreCheck or using a FastPass at Disney. To get an appointment, call the state office at 919-715-7000 (after you hear “main menu,” press 1, then 1). You may get a busy signal or get stuck on hold, and the first open spot will probably be weeks away. Trust me, it’s worth the extra hassle. Use these tricks to get a reservation:
- Keep calling and prepare to hold. The first two times I called, I heard, “Our call volumes are unusually high at this time, and we are unable to provide service.” But when I called back a few minutes later, I was put in the hold queue. In test calls last week, I waited for 15 minutes to get through on a Monday morning and 7 minutes on a Tuesday.
- Don’t call on Monday. A DMV call center rep told me that’s their busiest time for calls.
- Ask about openings at regional offices. You may be able to get an appointment at a DMV in Gastonia, Monroe or Statesville before you can get one in Charlotte.
- Ask about cancellations. Some DMV phone reps seem to try harder than others, and one was able to get me an appointment for the next day after I specifically asked about cancellations. Another agent told me your best bet for picking up a cancellation spot is to call right when the phones open at 8 a.m.
- Make an in-person appointment. Local offices won’t give you a reservation over the phone, but you can make one if you walk in the door. One Ledger reader walked into an office during her lunch hour and got an appointment for the next week.
If you have to walk in without an appointment…
- Go in the middle of the week. DMV data shows your best bet for fast service is to show up on Wednesday or Thursday. A DMV employee said it’s also a good idea to avoid the beginning and end of the month and days after a holiday.
- Avoid lunchtime. You’ll wait almost twice as long if you go at noon (75-minute wait after you check in) compared to early in the day (36-minute wait) or late afternoon (16-minute wait), according to DMV data.
- Try the Charlotte North DMV office. Located at 9711 David Taylor Drive in the university area, this is the newest Charlotte area DMV, so fewer people know about it. It’s also one of the largest. When I visited this location at 3 p.m. on a Thursday, there were only about 10 people in line.
- Make the drive to a regional office. Driving 30 minutes beats waiting in line for 3 hours. A friend who walked into the Gastonia office in the afternoon last year said there was no line at all. Others had good experiences in Polkton, Hickory and Lincolnton.
- Try the secret DMV in Pineville. This little-known mobile DMV operates out of a nondescript building in Pineville, and it rarely has a line. It is open on Wednesdays only from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (It’s closed for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Seriously.) The office does not do road tests, but it can handle almost everything else. Two Ledger readers who went this week said they got there around 8:45 a.m. and waited about 10 minutes. You’ll find it at 118 College St. in Pineville — go to the side door of the Pineville Communications building.
Michelle Crouch is a freelance journalist in Charlotte who covers health, personal finance and parenting. Her work has appeared in a variety of local and national publications, including Reader’s Digest, Real Simple, Prevention and AARP.
