DMV Adding Saturday Hours At More Locations To Combat Long Lines

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - The California Department of Motor Vehicles will start offering Saturday service at its Woodland office on September 22. The expanded service is an attempt to alleviate the long lines being experienced at field offices statewide due to the switch to REAL IDs.

The Woodland office and the San Diego-Claremont offices were added to the current list of 60 field offices that will serve customers from 8 am-5 pm on Saturdays. All services are available, except behind-the-wheel exams.

The local field offices that already operate on Saturdays are Fairfield, Folsom, Lodi, Modesto, Roseville, Sacramento, Tracy, and Yuba City.

The DMV also announced Wednesday it will open the Redlands and Whittier offices at 7 am on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays starting September 24, 2018. 14 other offices, including Auburn, Carmichael, Davis, and Rocklin, already open an hour early on those days.

Earlier this month, the DMV answered lawmakers questions about the long lines and what steps are being taken to alleviate the issue. At that time the DMV announced it redirected nearly 200 employees from its headquarters, along with employees from other state agencies, to field offices to help customers get helped faster.

According to the DMV director, the department has hired 500 new employees in 2018 to handle the increased demand due to the introduction of the federal REAL ID driver's license.

The DMV also added more self-serve kiosks to offices and grocery stores.

Tuesday, it announced a redesign of its website to better help customers access the most frequently used online services.

The federal REAL ID program goes into effect in 2020.