Trouble renewing your NC driver’s license? Lawmakers may give you more time
.JPG "Shelley Holmes, center, waits in line with 40 other customers at the North Carolina DMV Driver’s License Office on Avent Ferry Road on April 10, 2025, in Raleigh. Most arrived well before 9 a.m. seeking a spot in the “first come, first served” line.")
North Carolina residents would have an extra two years to renew their driver’s licenses under a bill approved by a House committee Wednesday.
The “temporary moratorium” on license expiration is designed to help the Division of Motor Vehicles deal with a backlog of people trying to get their licenses renewed in person. Lawmakers acknowledge that House Bill 821 is a stopgap measure that doesn’t really fix what ails the agency but say they want to help people who can’t get an appointment before their license expires.
“The point of it is to simply relieve the North Carolina public from the concerns they have about being unable to renew their driver’s license,” said Rep. Jay Adams, a Republican from Catawba County and one of the bill’s primary sponsors.
A standard Class C driver’s license is good for eight years in North Carolina and can be renewed online for another eight. But after 16 years, a driver must visit a DMV office to renew again, because the law requires that they get an updated photo.
New residents, first-time drivers and those seeking their first REAL ID also must do their business in person, adding to lines that have become common at DMV driver’s license offices. The agency makes appointments up to 90 days in advance, but those fill up quickly.
The two-year grace period would expire at the end of 2027 and would apply only to Class C driver’s licenses. It would not be available to people whose license has been canceled, revoked or suspended or for those looking to renew a REAL ID. The state began issuing REAL ID-compliant licenses in 2017, and the first of those are just now coming up for renewal.
The moratorium bill was introduced in the House Transportation Committee this week. Members overwhelmingly approved it, despite misgivings that it wouldn’t do anything to improve the agency.
“This bill would basically be facilitating the incompetency of the DMV by alleviating them of their responsibility of their job,” said Rep. Harry Warren, a Republican from Rowan County.
Other committee members said they hear complaints about the difficulty of doing business with the DMV but aren’t sure why.
“Has anybody articulated from the department, inside or out, what these challenges are stemming from?” asked Rep. Deb Butler, a Democrat from New Hanover County. “Is it personnel? Is it lack of funding? I’d like to know what people are hearing.”
In fact, outgoing DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin told lawmakers last fall that the agency doesn’t have enough workers in its driver’s license offices to do an adequate job.
North Carolina’s population has grown by about 2.6 million people since 2003, or about 31%, yet in that time the DMV has been authorized to open only three new driver’s license offices and hire no additional driver’s license examiners.
“The lines aren’t long — the wait times aren’t long — because we don’t have awesome employees,” Goodwin said in an interview. “It’s because we don’t have enough employees.”
This winter, the DMV asked for permission to hire 61 additional people to fill holes at its driver’s license offices, particularly in the Triangle and Charlotte areas, and create another 24 positions to open new offices in fast-growing Brunswick and Cabarrus counties and to expand the office in South Durham.
Those requests were included in Gov. Josh Stein’s proposed state budget but not in the version approved by the Senate this week.
NC Reality Check is an N&O series holding those in power accountable and shining a light on public issues that affect the Triangle or North Carolina. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email realitycheck@newsobserver.com
This story was originally published April 17, 2025 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Trouble renewing your NC driver’s license? Lawmakers may give you more time."
