Motor Vehicle Divison

I made an appointment on Monday July 26 and was helped by Lisa. Not only was she very kind to my mom and I but she also completed one of my requests in no time flat and the other she gave me a step by step list of what I needed to get done. Wonderful personality and work ethic! Thanks to Lisa, on Friday Timothy was able to finish my second request within minutes and I was able to get to my next errand early. Thank you Lisa and Timothy!

Though it may seem odd, my last trip to the MVD - state operated, not the express services - was quite nice. I know the norm is to complain about state run facilities, and if only they were all as efficient as this one is. The staff were friendly, informative, professional. They now have an online scheduling service ( mvdonline.com ) that made the process go a lot quicker and spent less money. They were as eager as I to get the process going and I had all the right paper work, so I spent less than 20 minutes total time inside. I do have to mention I did go in at open - 8am. Clean as can be inside. There is limited seating which also encourages people to plan ahead. I have no choice but to give five stars because of the friendly and helpful staff, clean interior and restroom, the clear cut expectations set by the staff. I opted to go with a state run facility rather than the express services due to how they treat their employees, apparently that $30 "express" fee goes right into someone else's pocket. I digress. Thank you for helping me get on my way, and helping me out.

They have this worked out. I got a new license this time only took about 1 hour. Friendly staff as well; very helpful and informative as well. I also got my truck registered about 4 months ago in less than 30 minutes. Keep up the great work. I can say I haven't dreaded a single visit now that you have it down. Way to go!

I have to say, never in my mind did I ever think I'd give a motor vehicle office 5 stars for service, but the staff here at San Mateo went above and beyond in some ways and left me very impressed. I had a long drawn out experience trying to help someone close to me navigate getting a driver's license after a suspension, and believe me that process wasn't easy! And I wouldn't wish upon anyone...We went out to Santa Fe first and that office was nice enough but not "special" in any way that made anyone stand out. We also tried the Moriarity Office and left that office horrified! The female manager was a straight up rude to customers and staff alike. I felt embarrassed for her due to her attitude. However the staff at San Mateo were always professional and truly made efforts to assist the customers. They also stayed responsive through emails and assisted us with appointments so we didn't have to wait long to get everything done! I would like to personally thank Lynda, Shawn, and there was another nice lady (sorry I didn't get her name), at San Mateo. This will be the office I use for all future MVD needs!

Nobody loves the MVD.This place will not change your mind.I honestly feel bad for the majority of the employees. They mostly are efficient.Try and do some research and be preparred but more than likely you'll be at least one paper away from that.I wish I could recommend a good time to go but, I fear there never is.Only advice is practice your zen.Good luck.

I'd give this place negative 5 stars if I could. I don't hold the line staff helping customers to blame so much as the management. Management at MVD must be a bunch of serious morons, or they just don't give a rip about whether their staff does a good job or the public is served. As a public servant myself who works in management, this is sad, pathetic, reprehensible, and utterly unacceptable to me as a taxpayer. The fact that you can't make appointments on the MVD website is ridiculous. The fact that the MVD website actually points you to third-party companies to get MVD services is laughable - a clear admission that they don't believe they can handle customers properly themselves! (And after this experience, it's obvious they indeed can't!) I went to the MVD on a Tuesday. I left work early to try to beat any lunch rush, arriving at the MVD at 11:45. There were a number of people there, yes, but the place was far from packed. I'd estimate there were about 35 customers present. I dutifully took a number and waited. Shortly after sitting down and hearing a couple numbers called, I noticed they called a group of about 11 numbers and asked them to queue up in front of one window. I thought this was odd but didn't give much thought to it (until later). When I began my wait, I was about 15 numbers away from being called. I figured this might take 30 minutes to get helped, and while a bit long, I would have been OK with that. After about 50 minutes and getting to within 3 numbers of my number, I was called in a group of about 10-11 people over to a side window (#2) to queue up and supposedly get helped. All of us lined up as told in numerical order and waited. (Shortly before this, a gentleman got upset at a window and asked to speak to a manager. He said he had been there earlier and that they had sent him away to get more information/paperwork, which he had done; but now they were telling him he needed something else and had to go get it and come back. I can understand his frustration.) After sitting in this new line, and being that much closer to the MVD agents, I naively hoped my wait might be nearly over. After about 20 minutes of standing in this line near empty station #2 and watching about 8 people get helped who came in to the MVD office well after I did, I decided that the 'side queue' line that I was in must be some kind of bizarre management idea to get their 'numbers helped' quota artificially higher, because they actually call your number, but they just don't help you. So it looks like they're helping 11-12 people on paper, but they aren't. I finally seized an opportunity when a vacant window called a number for a customer who wasn't responding. I waved my hand at the MVD agent and asked, "What about us, in this line, who have been standing here waiting for almost half an hour?!" He sheepishly shrugged and looked around and then called over the 1st person in our line. A few minutes later, someone appeared in booth #1, which was right next to us, and called the next person in our line. Maybe 5 minutes later, I was called up. The woman apologized twice for the wait and asked what I needed. She took my paperwork, shuffled it around for a couple minutes, gave it back to me, and said to go wait for the next booth that would call me "very soon." I was glad to be moving on and that it would be 'very soon.' However, after standing for 10 minutes waiting, I realized that all she had done was verify that I had the correct paperwork for what I was there for (which I did), so she didn't actually do anything! About 15 minutes after my 'very soon', I was finally called. The woman assessed what I needed and got it for me. I paid. I was out of there and done 5 minutes after she called me. The whole experience took 98 minutes. The actual meaningful interaction at the counter took 5 minutes, so that was 93 minutes of waiting and run-around - an idiotic process with employees who are unmotivated and beaten down by management that doesn't give a crap.So while it rankles me to no end that MVD Express places even exist, I now see why they do. It will be with consternation that I will become one of their customers. I wish I could just selectively refuse to pay my taxes that go to the MVD - at least the taxes that fund these offices - because trust me, they are being wasted. But sadly, taxation doesn't work that way. All I can tell you is DON'T DO IT. DON'T GO TO THIS OFFICE. Hopefully, one day, someone in management will care enough and be empowered enough to change this mess. Today, that is certainly not the case. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE. Oh, and it should come as no surprise that the poor guy who was waiting for a manager was still waiting when I left.And my long wait made me late for work and to a meeting. Thanks, MVD!!

Maybe answering the phone after twenty rings then just hanging up would be nice. I was also used the number posted on your website and was on hold for thirty minutes. Classic.

The customer service here was amazing. Never have I experienced such great customer service at an MVD. Thanks for all you do! These people deserve a raise!

Love the appt system. Right on time. Renewed drivers license/ Real ID. In and out really quick. Super nice people!

Zero stars. Messed up our vin inspection that was done by Jorge Lopez. A lady on 11 said it was done incorrectly. Came back the next day lady on 12 can't find the title of my car that was transferred here. Have to wait till 8 for another employee to come and unlock her filing cabinet. They're unorganized it's not our problem it's theirs they're rude, they're slow. It's like that movie where the sloths work at the dmv. True horror story.