Study says Charlotte DMVs got nation’s worst reviews. Here’s what’s being fixed
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- The North Carolina DMV had 29.35% negative Google reviews, per the article.
- The DMV’s virtual check‑in and added staff cut average statewide wait to about 35 minutes.
- North Carolina’s overall customer satisfaction rate for Q1 2026 was 93%.
A recent collection of Google reviews paints a very negative picture of Charlotte DMVs, but much has been done to improve customer experience.
A study by Sudoku Bliss — a company that says one of the best ways to fill the hours waiting in line is to play Sudoku — found that Charlotte DMVs have gotten some of the worst reviews on the nation. The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles takes the No. 1 spot on that study, with 29.35% negative reviews, and the NCDMV driver license office comes fifth, with 24.53%.
Last year, three Charlotte area DMVs made the top five, The Charlotte Observer previously reported, and one was the only DMV with over 30% negative reviews.
The study examined more than 140,000 reviews from 147 DMVs across 30 major cities, the report says, looking for keywords related to long waits and bad service in reviews with three or fewer stars.
New DMV improvement efforts
The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles Communications Director Marty Homan said the department has been trying new tactics to improve satisfaction as a part of the department’s strategic plan.
“Over the last year, we’ve made many improvements to the customer experience, and we know that the customers in Charlotte are realizing these shortened wait times. So about a year ago, we started taking walk-ins all day long again, which addresses that line that had been building up first thing in the morning and was the largest contributor to the long wait times,” Homan said.
The DMV has implemented a new check in process that allows customers to monitor their spot in line virtually, rather than waiting in person, and hired more personnel, The News & Observer previously reported.
“We have made tremendous progress from having a couple hour wait to, last month, the average wait time was about 35 minutes across the state. In the Charlotte area, those wait times were all below an hour,” Homan said. “They were an hour and a half to three hours in September when we started being able to more accurately check wait time data.”
The DMV also tracks satisfaction scores internally. The DMV uses a scale of 1-5, with 1 being highly unsatisfied and 5 being highly satisfied. The customer satisfaction rates reflect scores of 4 and 5, Homan said. North Carolina’s overall customer satisfaction rate for the first quarter of 2026 was 93%.
Charlotte-area DMV satisfaction rates
Homan said the Mecklenburg County Customer Satisfaction rates are:
- Charlotte East: 92.6%
- Charlotte North: 90.4%
- Charlotte South: 95.3%
- Charlotte West: 91.7%
- Huntersville: 93.7%
Does it help to show up early to the DMV?
No, Homan said.
“People no longer need to show up first thing in the morning in hopes of being able to be served that day. That was previously the case based on how the system was set up at that time, but that is no longer the case,” Homan said. “You definitely do not need to come hours before we even open, we strongly discourage people doing that because that’s just making your wait longer.”
DMV online services
Senate Bill 245, signed by the governor last year, will allow a projected additional 400,000 online transactions at the DMV. Those include:
- Renew license
- Order duplicate licenses and IDs
- Order driving records
- Upgrade licenses
- Make DMV appointments
- Request an interpreter
“We don’t think we’re we’re perfect, and we’re not taking a victory lap yet. We know we have a long way to go, but we have made great progress,” Homan said.
