In recent months, several Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle offices in the region have reported closures as a result of staffing issues. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT), DMV offices across Central Oregon have closed an average of about eight and a half days since September.
From September to January, Madras and Prineville offices have each closed three full days, while Redmond closed for one full day and two partial days, according to Public Information Officer Chris Crabb with ODOT. Officials say these closures were due to staffing.
While there were no reported closures during that time in La Pine or Bend, some residents have seen longer than normal wait times, experiencing the downsides of staffing shortages. According to Crabb, the DMV has been operating at a minimal level of staff for many years now.
“While the population of Oregon has increased by about 750,000 people in the past two decades, DMV staffing has remained about the same as it was 20 years ago,” Crabb said.
Bend resident Eric Sedransk went to the DMV office in Bend on Jan. 7 to get a new license and registration. He arrived around 10:30am, thinking he’d miss the morning rush. Upon entering the building, DMV staff members told Sedransk that several people were out, making the wait around five to six hours.
Instead of waiting for someone to help him, Sedransk told the Source Weekly, he left the DMV without obtaining his license and registration. While he hasn’t had a chance to return, he plans to try another Central Oregon location that may be less crowded.
Daily staffing challenges, Crabb said, are often a result of the DMV sending relief between the offices, typically covering for employees on leave, to try and maintain a minimal level of staffing necessary to keep regional offices open.
“This often means we are especially short-staffed at our busiest office in the area (Bend) to keep the others going, resulting in long wait times in Bend, and we fall short of our primary goal to provide excellent customer service to all Oregonians,” Crabb told the Source Weekly in an email. “On some days, the staffing falls below the minimal levels necessary to send relief and the only way to continue is to close an office and try and consolidate staff in the offices we can keep open.”
In an attempt to make some services easier to access, ODOT announced Jan. 16 that Oregon DMV is launching express kiosks in Fred Meyer stores in nine cities, including one in Bend. The self-service kiosks will offer customers another way to renew their vehicle registration beyond a DMV field office, mail or online.
“We see these kiosks as a way to improve customer service, access and equity,” said DMV administrator Amy Joyce in a press release. “This program is the latest effort aimed at improving the DMV experience for our customers. Seven days a week, any time Fred Meyer is open, Oregonians can renew their registration and receive their tags immediately. And half of the kiosks accept cash in addition to credit and debit cards. Offering cash payments as an option helps ensure everyone has access to essential services, regardless of their banking status or their comfort using credit and debit cards online. We’re looking forward to bringing more kiosks to the state later this year.”
With the new kiosks, customers are charged a vendor fee of $4.95 per transaction and can walk away with a printed vehicle registration and license plate stickers. Oregon DMV plans to eventually add more kiosks in grocery stores across the state to meet customer demand.
While the kiosk may free up wait times at local DMVs, the deadline for people to get a Real ID from the DMV is coming up, and that needs to be done in person.
Individuals without a valid U.S. passport will need a Real ID to travel by plane after May 7, 2025. To obtain a Real ID, people must visit a DMV office to apply in person and bring original documents that prove their identity, date of birth, residence address and lawful status in the U.S. The Real ID option costs an additional $30, according to ODOT.
Those who want to get their Real ID, or need to visit the DMV in person, have the option to make an appointment online or walk in at any DMV office without an appointment.
This article appears in The Source Weekly January 16, 2025.
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they’re not hiring? can’t they reach out and train some homeless folks who are ready willing and able to work?
Bend. A town full of developers and people doing nothing all day but walking around with coffee and driving like mad to get to their yoga class.
Aside from our health care workers and city and county employees, no one here wants or needs to work. So, by all means……keep building!! Good luck finding a dentist. Get familiar with the ER for your health needs.
You try to make an appointment on-line and there are never any times available.. I would imagine the State could hire some retired folks who would be willing to work part time say 20-25hrs. per week to alleviate the work load.