CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After complaints of long wait times last summer – some stretching over the course of a full day – the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles is adding new staff to some of its offices starting next week to reduce wait times.
Next week, DMV offices in Morganton, Huntersville, East Charlotte and Gastonia will each get a new license examiner.
DMV Commissioner Torre Jessup said the longer-than-usual wait times are due in part to a large number of residents coming in to get the new Real ID driver's licenses. Computer and staffing issues are also adding to the headache, he said.
Jessup said 37,000 more people came in last year than in 2017 to upgrade their license to meet the new federal security requirements.
The federal government is slated to begin enforcing the REAL ID Act on Oct. 1, 2020.
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