Oakland DMV Office

Place had very unfriendly employees almost to the point they were purposely trying to be miserable. Had to wait in a 20 min line just for general reception. Had a very rude thin haired Asian guy that spray painted his hair black help me. I had to renew my drivers license and had to come in because I had to update my picture. While I was waiting I saw many frustrated people with appointments. They were told they were running behind. After 2hrs my number was called, I paid my fee (3 min trams action) and went on with my business, only reason I am giving it a 2 star instead of a 1 was because the Camera guy that took my picture genuinely looked like he enjoyed his job. He smiled and said have a great day. Crazy huh, being polite at the DMV.

The staff are as nice as they can be working here, but this is by far the worst dmv experience ever. I waited 2.5 hours to receive a number, and another 2.5 to be helped. I almost cried.

Best example of government bureaucracy and stupidity at work. Computers or power down at least once a week. I’ve had 4 appointments and each time «the computers are down.»
No wonder Trump is so popular. Our government agencies are failures.

Made an online appointment and still had to wait an hour in line. I noticed that the normal line took the same amount of time.

Went in for a drivers license renewal. Appointment line was longer than the non-​appointment line, but I got through it in ~40 minutes. Once I got my letter/​number ticket, I was seen and out the door within another 15 – 20 minutes. The long lines were not enjoyable (luckily it wasn’t raining or super hot outside), but I was pleasantly surprised by how nice everyone was — both the workers and everyone else in line! Now I’m just waiting to see what my photo looks like T_​T I didn’t ask to see it, but the person in front of me saw hers and got hers re-​done with no problems.

The wait wasn’t too bad. For having a non appointment– the desk clerk helped me out with what I needed, but when I had to wait for my number it was just crazy. Then when I got there the DMV clerk gave me just the tags for the year when I needed both– now I have to go back up there to correct this mistake which could have been avoided if the employees actually looked at the paperwork. Other than that the facility was nice no yelling, area was clean not too packed.

Most of the people at Dmv are like don’t care for their job or they slept on the wrong side of the bed lol … Most of the them are like talk to my hand … So I got to the window and this Patrick guy was helping with a poker face … I thought I did something to him … Cause he was not friendly at all …

Bruh dis shit week ah fuck bluh ion even wan drie no mo gah me fillin like sponge bob innat hoe

Made an appointment for a Wednesday morning at 9am, as they ONLY open at 9am on Wed. Parking was easy when I got there at 8.20am. There was a LONG line. Some people got in line at 7am, apparently. Insane
MAKE AN APPOINTMENT PEOPLE!!!
While standing in line, I asked where was the appointment line and the people standing in line said there is only one line. Rubbish! I knew that there was an appointment line, that gets served first. So the wait began.
Staff and guards came out at 8.40am and gave all the application forms to everyone, so we could fill it all up.
THEY ASKED ALL THE PEOPLE WITH APPOINTMENTS TO STEP OUT OF LINE AND FORM ANOTHER LINE. There were only 2 people in the appointment line.
— Doors opened at 9am sharp. Got my number renewed my license, took a picture and it was all complete in 15 mins.
NON-​APPOINTMENT PEOPLE– Guess what? It was so sad to see that it did not matter when you got there, when the guards came out and asked to form the non-​appointment line, everyone just cut the lines and formed a brand new line, by another door.
MY ADVICE for the non-​appointment people, stand by the LEFT door (looking into the building /​counters).

Who would’ve guessed a DMV could earn five stars?
I made an appointment here (the only way to do any DMV errand if you can’t clear your whole schedule) because the San Francisco office was booked until after my license expired (super convenient!).
I took BART and walked the 0.7 miles from Rockridge station through bucolic Craftsman-​style neighborhoods, arriving 20 minutes early. I figured that, like in San Francisco, I wouldn’t be allowed to check in until 10 minutes beforehand, but to my surprise they gave me a number. Within 10 minutes my number was called. Another person behind me was 2 hours early for their appointment, which was apparently too far ahead. The clerk said the non-​appointment line was even shorter, so they encouraged them to skip the appointment and go for the non-​appointment line, or leave and come back later.
This was just a license renewal, so I had to come in person to do a vision test, get a new photo and verify my information was still correct. The vision test and photo were at separate windows, so I paid and did the vision test, then got paperwork and went to another window for the photo.
The photo turned out *awful* but the process was quite efficient and, all things considered, painless. Thanks, Oakland DMV!

I did not have experience in every DMV office in the US. Among the five that I have visited, this is rank #5 on my most favorable DMV list. Just look at the line stretched outside and around the parking lot. The schedule system is a total break down. So expect to spend 2~3 hours if you want renew you license or so. I visited this office on the weekend day afternoon around 2 pm for my girlfriend’s car. And I after 4pm. The staffs, the one you can find and talk to, are very friendly. However, you spend a lot of time waiting for your turn as the staff have to take care of the delayed cases, many of delayed cases/​people. It me about an hour before the one showed up at the side parking lot and spent 5 five minute to check my car signal light, etc.
Another tip: If you want to do a survey, bring your questionnaire here. People on the waiting line are so bored that they will do any survey to burn the time.

We had a 10:30AM appointment…
At 11:30AM there were still 8 cars in front of us waiting for their driving test.
Ugh why make appointments if people still have to wait hours to be serviced.

¹⁰⁄₁₀. Would stand in line again. Left me wanting more. I live down the street, and if I had my druthers, I would spend MORE time here. My number is G101, I haven’t even been called yet, but I just KNOW it’s going to be an incredible, dare I say– transformative experience. They just called G089, I’m on the edge of my seat. The anticipation is LITERALLY killing me. There is no where I would rather be than right here, with all my new friends at the Claremont DMV

I was surprised to see that not all the employees that work here are rude, some were very helpful, which is rare when talking about the DMV, usually everyone has an attitude, but when I came I only received attitude from 1 of 3 employees that helped me. The woman that first helped me with my form and number was very friendly and so was the person at the camera line, but the person who took my photo was a D***. Also, this location is way slower than others, there are 20 or so windows, but only 10 or so are open at a time.

This DMV is pretty magical (if you have an appointment).
I made my appointment about a month ahead of time because the wait for the SF office was about 3+months long. The DMV is easy to get to by public transport (bart + bus) and if you’re driving there seems to be plenty of parking. Arriving here at 9:20 for my 9:40 appointment there was a HUGE line out the door (for walk-​ins), the appointment only line had one person in it so I scurried my way past all the suckers waiting for hours and got right up to the counter. Immediately I was given a number and a form to fill out (License renewal) and before I could even go to the bathroom my number was already called (I was in SHOCK).
The woman at the counter was super helpful with information and very quick. The place is huge with a ton of staff and I am sure working at the DMV sucks but they were all friendly, smiling and very cordial for a Monday morning.
The longest I had to wait was to snap a quick photo for my new license and take the test on the computer (pro tip — study while waiting in line this test has some weird questions that are specific to the state or just kinda stuff you would never think about).
All in all, I was in and out of this place in UNDER AN HOUR. It was incredible.

Very smooth process if you have an appointment. I came in to renew my ID with a 12:10 appointment.
After a short wait I got the form, filled it in and handed a ticket. After less than a 10 minute wait, got called to a window where all my information was input and was asked questions. This was quickly followed by queuing for 5 mins to take a picture and I was done. In and out in under an hour.
DMV gets a lot of bad rep but perhaps it’s from people without appointments? I don’t really know but my word of advice is plan and book an appointment a month in advance. You’ll be glad you did

Maybe no one in the Oakland area makes DMV appointments. This was the only office I could get an appointment without waiting several weeks, and I checked offices from Petaluma to Pleasanton. I forgot the first appointment I made earlier in the month in El Cerrito, their next appointment was in February and that would not do. I was even willing to wait at some location all day if I could not get an appointment.
When I arrived, the non appointment line was all around the building and a security guard was making sure that people did not get run over by cars coming into the parking lot. There were less than 10 people in the appointment line. When I neared the desk the clerk saw my paper work and handed me a number while she was helping another person.
All the employees were friendly and helpful. I was in and out quickly. My only complaint, and it is minor, I told the person updating my license info that I was a blond, and did not have brown hair. I guess she did not believe me it will still say brown, although she did increase my weight information. On the other hand the woman taking the phone was cruel; she should have retaken my photo.

DMV lines suck. I’ll be honest, I never arrived in the early mornings because I dont want to «wait».
Lesson is learned. It is best to arrive early. I’ve been doing this the last couple of times here at this location.
What I like about this location is that even before 8am opening, Staff members come out and ask people what they are here for and give them the right forms. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen, but I felt that this was very good way of start off the morning by having people organized and answering questions.

This isn’t the most horrible place in the world, says the girl from Jersey City, New Jersey where DMV visits are an all day affair where getting served attitude by various people is pretty much a guarantee. Seriously though, I wouldn’t say the employees had the sunniest disposition, but they did a solid job somewhat quickly.
A few things first:
Make an appointment. That walk-​in line… forget it.
Although I made an afternoon appointment, I have a hunch that those AM appointments are much more on time and efficient.
Bring your passport. No where on your website did it say you need a passport to get a CA license.
There will be a wait. Make sure that phone is charged or you brought a magazine. It’s that: you wait to wait some more time wait.
Other than that, it was A-​OK. People watching at its finest and although I definitely would like to spend a few hours of my day somewhere else, this errand got done.

My license was expiring and I made an appointment over their internet system a month prior.
I was in and out in half an hour with appointment! The staff here were all ultra nice too!
Restrooms are clean too!