Simi Valley Department of Motor Vehicles

Quick service in comparison to other DMV offices. I was in and out in half hour. I want to give them the other two stars, however, I the lady at the check in counter looked miserable, who knows maybe just a bad day. This was a couple of months ago, the reason why I didn’t Unilocal then was because I realized later that she shoved aside my voter registration, I know it’s partially my fault, but I gave her the benefit of a doubt and figured I had done my part. When I noticed that the Official Sample Ballots were sent and everyone in my household received one and I didn’t, I realized I shouldn’t have trusted her. Again my fault for being trusting. I let a couple of weeks pass to see if there was a delay in the mail for my Ballot to show and nothing so I registered online and a week later I received the confirmation and ballot I needed. Watch out for these things people, make yourself count. Thanks MISERABLE DMV LADY for try’s to keep me from my civil duties and trying to «make America great again» in your own way

I had an AMAZING experience at this DMV. MAKE AN APPOINTMENT! I made an 8 am appointment, truly you can tell they make appointments their priority. Everyone I talked with was competent and happy. I had a lot of paperwork that needed to get filed but I was moving promptly from section to section, person to person, I can’t imagine my trip going any shorter; they were extremely efficient. Please go to this DMV and make an appointment, you’ll be happy you did.

This review is long overdue. I took my behind-​the-​wheel test for my license at this DMV back in July 2013. I was plenty nervous, as you can imagine. I pulled up to where you were supposed to and waited for my instructor. I was immediately put off by the guy who got in the car with me (apparently, my dad was too). This guy was morbidly obese, sweaty, stinky, and clearly not in the mood to evaluate a teenage driver. We started the test and for a bit, everything seemed fine. I pulled out of the DMV, demonstrated my ability to change lanes and signal, and drove at an appropriate speed. All was fine, until we turned into a neighborhood.
My instructor said «Move over to the right.» I took that as meaning that I should make sure I stayed on the right side of the road and not drift. Suddenly, he raised his voice and said, «Hey, what did I just tell you to do?!» Apparently he wanted me to curbside park. When I did that, I told him I didn’t know what he meant by «move over to the right.» He then went on about how anyone else from any other part of the world taking this test would have understood what he meant, and that «when I tell you to do something, you do it.» He then yelled at me to keep going since a car was pulling up right behind us.
I was utterly humiliated. From how this guy was treating me, I was positive that he was going to fail me. It seemed as though every little thing I did was wrong. We drove back down Alamo and I almost turned into the lane that would take us to the Simi Police Station.
«Are you NOT going back to the DMV???» My instructor asked in an irritated manner. I corrected myself and went into the right lane. When we parked (which he also ridiculed me for), my instructor said the following: «Driving is all about common sense. Clearly, you have no common sense!» He then, to my surprise, told me I had passed and flung the evaluation paper at me before exiting my car.
I regret allowing that guy to approach my dad and give him his side of the story. I didn’t tell my dad about this until we got home. He urged me to write out exactly what happened. He then took my paper back to the DMV with him and showed it to the manager. He told me that she acted like this had happened before. I can’t believe that. That guy would have lasted about a day working for me. It pains me to know that there are companies out there that have such low standards that they would be willing to hire people like this guy. I have no idea if anything was done about him but I sure hope so. I hope no other teens going in to take their driving test had to put up with him after that.
Teen drivers take note: if you see that your driving test instructor is a guy who matches the description I provided at the beginning, request someone else. Really. You will be saving yourself a lot of unnecessary humiliation. You should not have to feel that way when you are already nervous enough about something as important as your driving test. Or if you get someone else who treats you with such disrespect, tell someone immediately.

Going to the DMV is probably not going to be an enjoyable experience, ever, but save yourself the horror of going to another location (like the Winnetka DMV) and go here. Efficient and the workers don’t seem like they hate everyone.

The DMV here in Simi Valley is not that slow in terms of getting a number to wait. The most time I have waited was about 45 min. from start to finish and that was not that bad. I would only reccomend going to this DMV in the early morning when they first open.

I just had the best experience at this DMV! I made an appointment to change my license to my married last name. My appointment was at 9:30 and its 9:58 and I’m already home! The employees are all super nice and helpful. I will never go to any other DMV again.

Fastest and most professional dmv office. In addition no long wait time. The staff is very friendly. Took my written test a few months ago and behind the wheel test with charlie today. He made me feel comfortable and calmed my nerves. Highly recommended this location.

I had one of the best experiences at this DMV. I had to wait about an hour, although it looked rather slow that day at this branch, and that’s why the 5^th star is missing. But in all honesty I’ve waited a lot longer than that in other branches.
But once I got to the counter, I was pleasantly surprised by a very nice and helpful analyst who was very understanding. She had a difficult case since my car wasn’t registered for a few years but she handled it and I didn’t end up having to take a second mortgage on my house to register my Sunday cruiser. All in all, I was happy with the outcome.

Wow, what a difference… it’s been a while since I’ve been to the DMV but it wasnt what I remembered. I was amazed at how quick and effieciant everyone seemed to be and more important they were smiling, polite and seemed to want to help.
Very cool…

Made an appointment for behind the wheel test online a few days beforehand. Very nice and clean building, staff is extremely friendly. Even though it was 10:30, DMV was practically empty! There was no line and I went straight to the window.
My instructor’s name was Carl, he was very nice and positive. The test lasted 15 minutes and the route was easy.
I highly recommend to take the driving test in this DMV!

My youngest daughter took her driving exam at this location. She passed, but what should have been a memorable experience for her instead left her very upset. First, the person she rode with was a very large, sweaty, stinky, uncouth guy. She didn’t understand a couple of things he told her to do during the test, and so he ridiculed her during the rest of the test and told her she didn’t have any common sense and flung the completed test at her as he left the car. She did not tell me about this until later or I would have confronted him. I returned to complain to the manager there, but who knows if anything was done about it…

MAKE AN APPOINTNENT! Seriously…
Or call 800−777−0133
So, I didn’t make a appointment, waited about an hour and was overall happy making the drive.
Breaking it down:
–no appointment, so I expected the wait
–staff is really friendly, have a question, they give you a thorough answer
–place is pretty clean and AC is pretty good for the amount of people here.
–appointments have pretty much head of the line and wait about 20 minutes or less. Only thing is you can only be seen as early as 5 minutes before your appointment.

Was in and out in less than an hour and did a driving test.
It was a breeze.
Nice staff, easy parking and quick service !

I can’t say enough good things about this place. I made an appointment from the advice of other people. Totally right on the dot. I got here super early, but waited 5 minutes to get inline. I had to do several things (get new DL & change & new title for car). The lady in front (I wish I got her name) felt bad for me. I partially filled out one form since I couldn’t understand the other stuff on the form. She was incredibly helpful & gave me more forms to fill out. Holy moly! The staff that I dealt with were really nice & patient with me (after a horrid day at 2 courthouses). Quite refreshing. This is on a Friday! Note to self: this is not a 1 day process. *Groan* But, I realized how thorough they are. It’s nice to know. The one thing that I wish they could improve on is having more than 1 stall for the women’s bathroom.

For everyone out there DESPERATE for a phone # to talk to a HUMAN:
916−657−7790 Executive Director Jean Shiomoto
916−657−6940 Chief Deputy Director Hugo Lopez
916−657−2096 Fax
Originally, I made an appointment with the Van Nuys DMV. I left because of the sweatshop conditions and the riot-​at-​any-​moment atmosphere. Yikes, is an understatement.
So, the next day I drove to Simi Valley location at the crack of dawn and was person #2 in line. It was fast and easy until the young lady behind the counter informed me that I was missing 1 document (because my car was purchased out-​of-​state). She was sweet and said, «Just go home, and hurry back. Don’t wait in line, just come see me.»
And that’s exactly what I did. The nasty drive from Simi to Van Nuys, back to Simi wasn’t so bad because I got to jump the line and see her directly. I was in and out in minutes. Best DMV ever!

We must have hit this on the WRONG day. We patiently waited weeks for an appointment for my son to get his behind-​the-​wheel driving test (he passed!) Well, we had the appointment set for 9:45 am. We show up and it’s complete total chaos in that section (yes we were in the right line and yes we appeared on time). We did not leave until 11:40. He didn’t even get called to bring the car in the test lane until 11:07. Horrible experience. Missed hours of school and I missed a ½ day of work. So much for the appointment system. Thanks a lot DMV!
Oh, one more thing, if the agents even had a smile or a simple acknowledgement of the delays or a pleasant attitude, I may not be so peeved… but geez — makes me mad when we follow the rules and still the attitude… frustrating.

This is one of the least crowded DMV I have ever been to. I came here to get my behind the wheel test and to my luck I had CARL as my examiner. He was so pleasant and friendly. I never felt the pressure of taking the test. Also I find the staff here are more attentive and courteous. The roads in Simi Valley are wider and that also helps if you’re really nervous about driving under major traffic conditions.
I have been to winnetka DMV and did not have a good experience.

This is the first time I’ve ever had a wonderful experience at the DMV. All the other DMV experiences prior to this one have been so cold and technical. When I say wonderful I mean the whole experience. Clean parking lot with ample space. The whole experience without an appointment literally took 55 minutes total. Every employee there was working so hard with a fabulous attitude to each person. It’s like pleasantville.
Don’t worry if you’re still skeptical just see for yourself. I was preparing myself for a headache. Even after I read the great Unilocal reviews I was still super doubtful. Sure enough I was proven wrong. They looked up my vehicle information and gave me my car registration immediately. It was supposed to come in the mail and I had my bank email me a copy showing the check had been cashed at the Sacramento headquarters. They said it’s ok we have all that on record here’s a new sticker it probably got lost in the mail.
Tips: it always helps to have an appointment but don’t be discouraged to walk in. Bring a kindle or something to hold you through the wait. Food and water is not allowed inside. Once you’re at the window you’ll be out sooner than you think.

Yup, I’m giving a DMV 5 stars. I needed to renew my car registration and had a bit of paperwork drama
So I was ready dreading this trip. I live in Burbank but work in Moorpark so this DMV was in my way home. I ran in at 4:51 last Friday half expecting them to turn me away because it was so close to closing. They gladly took me without an Appointment and I only had to wait 20 minutes. The clerk who helped me, Maritza was very efficient and I only spent about 5 minutes with her total. All in all, I was out by 5:20. If anyone has ever had the displeasure of going to the Glendale DMV you will know how awful the DMV experience usually is… Hopefully I won’t have to go to the DMV in the future but if I do, I will be going to Simi!

I know you’re probably thinking I’m crazy for giving the DMV anything more than 3 stars. I wouldn’t normally write a review for a government entity, but I’ve had nothing but positive experiences that it warrants a review.
I’ve been here twice without an appointment, one appointment was right when it opened and the other appointment was in the afternoon. Both times I was in and out less than an hour. Yes, I wrote that correctly. I was shocked how fast and efficient the employees are here. The employees are pleasant and it actually looks like they enjoy working there, that they could have fooled me.
It does pay off if you make an appointment. I made an appointment to renew my driver’s license and I was in and out in less than 20 minutes. I didn’t even think it was possible at the DMV, but this is a hidden gem of all the DMVs.