Fun With the California DMV

This is what I sent to the DMV along with my registration renewal after a lot of confusion over how to accomplish this seemingly simple task.

August 1, 2004

Dear DMV Representative,

I just wanted to point out that I am a member of the military and I’ve called the DMV twice to make sure that I’ve got the right paperwork filled out to get around paying the extra costs that do not apply to non-resident military drivers.

This being the first time I have ever had to deal with the CA DMV, I made a trip to the local San Diego office, only to find out that they don’t do registration renewal at the DMV office. But let me back up. After following the sign that says, “No Credit or Debit cards accepted, Only CASH or Check” I had to walk to the corner liquor store to get cash to renew my registration. After waiting in line for 40 minutes on a hot July Friday afternoon, I eagerly approach the counter to have the lady tell me that she can’t help me because I don’t have a check. She failed to mention that was because you only do registration renewal by mail, phone or Internet, so I thought it was because I didn’t have a check on me. I’m a guy and I don’t carry around my checkbook, as most modern businesses accept my credit and sharecheck cards just as they would cash. But the lady didn’t tell me that, I found out later while looking at the DMV website. While it DOES NOT specifically say that on the notice that came with my renewal, I just assumed that you could renew registration at the DMV because I grew up thinking that’s what the whole purpose of the DMV is, to conduct DMV related activities live in person. I thought doing it by mail, Internet, or over the phone was an OPTION, not MANDATORY, as I had the extra paperwork REG 256 to have taken care of because of my military status, otherwise I would have never stepped foot in my car to go to the CA DMV considering the other convenient options. I have an idea: maybe the DMV should put that in BIG BOLD RED LETTERS on the registration renewal paperwork that they send out instead of posting it in some obscure place on the DMV website (that amazingly, I can’t for the life of me find anywhere on the DMV website at the moment) for frustrated customers to find after they drove to the DMV, walked to the liquor store to take out cash (and get charged a bank fee), then wait in line for the better part of an hour to happily be told they don’t do that at the DMV office because I didn’t have a check, without any other explanation.

Failing that rather logical train of thought, another good option for those that may not have the Internet or know otherwise (I have the Internet) is to post a big sign on the DMV door and around the office (I obviously didn’t see one if there was one) that says:

IF YOU ARE TRYING TO RENEW YOUR REGISTRATION PLEASE READ HERE:
REGISTRATION RENEWAL IS ONLY CONDUCTED BY MAIL, PHONE, OR INTERNET OR YOU CAN DROP IT OFF HERE ONLY IF YOU HAVE A CHECK TO SAVE A STAMP.

That way, if someone doesn’t know that you can’t renew registration before getting in their car and going there, they at least don’t have to wait in the inevitable long line that always exists at the DMV.

Ironically enough, on the return envelope that the DMV gives you with your renewal notice says:

For the price of a postage stamp you:
• Help fight air pollution, traffic congestion, and tax increases.
• Save valuable time, money, for gas and wear on your vehicle. By using the mail, you have chosen the easiest way to submit a DMV application and have assisted us in providing a better service.
Thank you,
Department of Motor Vehicles

That only applies if the person KNOWS BEFOREHAND that you don’t do registration renewal live at the DMV. I wasted my time, gas, money, and energy driving there and waiting in line.

If all this weren’t enough trouble, I called the DMV and asked if sending the REG 256 form in with my check for the registration renewal was sufficient to prove my military affiliation, as there is nothing on the form to actually indicate or prove that I’m in the military. I don’t care except for the fact that I’m afraid that I’m going to get something back explaining that I need to send in proof that I’m in the military, after my tags have already expired, which will make me look like an irresponsible moron. To that end, I also asked how long it would take the DMV to send me the registration tag stickers for my vehicle. The lady at the DMV explained that it could possibly take up to three months to send out the stickers. My stickers expire at the end of August, but my renewal isn’t officially due until August 8th. Going on the theory that the stickers could take longer than that to get to me, what is one to do in the interim time when the stickers on my car at this moment go past their date until the stickers get to me? What am I to explain to the overzealous cop that pulls me over (explaining things makes you look bad to a cop)? Or what about the aggressive apartment manager that tows cars because of out-of-periodicity tags in their lot? That actually happened to someone I know. I understand that maybe for some bureaucratic reason, those two tiny stickers can’t get sent for up to three months. Fine. Going on that assumption, why doesn’t it say that on the renewal notice that it could take that long and it’s my responsibility to get them before they expire? Better yet, why don’t they make the deadline for paying the registration renewal three months before it is expired to prevent all this pointless confusion? Or even better than that, why don’t they find a more efficient way to send the tags out to people in less than three months? I am generally the type of person who pays things when they first come in the mail, but sometimes it gets put off until it comes up closer to the due date. If I had KNOWN of all this confusion, I would have happily sent it off as soon as I got the notice.

I am certainly glad that I am not paying the full $197 for my vehicle registration yearly for this kind of sub-par service. It’s bad enough that I have to pay $52, which is twice as much as I have paid in VA. I understand the CA government needs the money. But why can’t the CA government find a more streamlined way of conducting this business? I’ve been doing registration with VA for 6 years before I bought a car in CA, and I have never experienced this kind of utter confusion as to how to take care of such a simple process as registration renewal. Going on the assumption that the silly bureaucratic guidelines for not doing the registration renewal at the DMV office and the longer than usual wait time for the stickers is something that can’t be avoided, please EXPLAIN THIS TO PEOPLE before they waste their time, gas, money, etc trying to figure this all out. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person and if I am having a hard time with this, I can only imagine what the rest of CA thinks of it, especially when at least ¼ of them don’t speak English as their first language. Wait, that doesn’t apply because it doesn’t say it anywhere for them to read it anyway, English or otherwise.

Have a great day.

Ironically, it says on the BACK of the return envelope: Once renewal fees have been deposited in the mail, California law allows you to operate your vehicle while DMV processes your renewal.

I'm sure glad they put that on the back of the return envelope, the last thing you read before sending it off.

I don't think they could make this process more confusing if they actually hired a team of people to do just that. Let's put pertinent information where most people won't read until after they are confused and frustrated or where they just might not find at all!

That, Governator Ahnold, is what we call streamlining here at the DMV.



Time saving alternatives? Yeah, right.