DMV wait times dip 42 percent despite spike in walk-in customers

Good news for motorists: Wait times have dropped at state Department of Motor Vehicle offices.

And that’s despite an increase in walk-in customers at DMV offices during the last few months of last year.

In the last quarter of 2019, the average waiting time for a walk-in customer at one of the state’s six largest DMV locations decreased by 42 percent despite a 22 percent increase in customers, the DMV announced Friday.

The average wait for those 436,832 customers was 40 minutes, a 20-minute drop compared to the same three-month period in 2018 when those six DMV locations served 356,075 walk-ins with an average wait of 69 minutes.

“As Nevada’s population continues to grow, we must think creatively about ways to deliver more government services with fewer resources, and the DMV has risen to that challenge by working tirelessly to decrease average wait times by nearly half an hour for customers across Nevada,” said Gov. Steve Sisolak. “Many Nevadans, myself included, have stood in a long line at the DMV in the past, and it’s great to see the DMV implementing state-of-the-art, time-saving tools to ensure our citizens can get back to work, school, or home in as little time as possible.”

DMV Director Julie Butler attributed the decrease in wait times to the new lobby management system the state instituted last year. The QMatic system has more flexibility and advanced reporting capabilities that enable the DMV to spot bottlenecks and other problems.

“I’m very pleased with these decreased wait times and the performance of both our new system and our staff,” Butler said. “The DMV team is committed to serving our customers as efficiently as possible and we’re doing just that.”

The DMV encourages Nevadans to visit its website, where more than two dozen online transactions and appointments for office visits are available.

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.