Worker shortage prompts NC DMV to close another driver’s license office indefinitely
The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles is closing another driver’s license office because it doesn’t have enough employees to run it.
The DMV announced Wednesday that it will close the Lillington office in Harnett County on Monday, Sept. 23, until further notice.
It’s the third driver’s license office the agency has closed in recent weeks because of inadequate staffing. DMV offices in Laurinburg and Raeford, southwest of Fayetteville, were closed Aug. 19. The agency was able to reopen the Laurinburg office on Sept. 11, but Raeford remains closed.
In each case, the DMV did not have enough driver’s license examiners to staff them. The agency has closed offices in the past because of a lack of staff, but only for a day or two, according to spokesman Marty Homan. These are the first extended closures due to a lack of workers.
Lillington normally has two driver’s license examiners. One is retiring on Friday, Homan said, while the other is being moved to the larger Erwin office, where someone is on leave.
Homan said the DMV has 25 new examiners lined up to take the required five-week training class starting in September and another 25 starting the class in November. It hopes some of those new trainees will enable it to reopen the shuttered offices by the end of the year.
The Lillington office had been accepting people on a walk-in basis only, so no one will lose their appointment. The DMV is encouraging Harnett County residents to use nearby offices in Erwin, Sanford, Smithfield and Fayetteville.
The DMV also encourages customers to check its website, MyNCDMV.gov, to see if they can do their driver’s license business online.
The DMV has been plagued by staffing shortages statewide for years. As recently as 2022, about a quarter of all driver’s license examiner positions were vacant, contributing to long lines and wait times.
Higher pay and one-time sign-on and retention bonuses have helped reduce the vacancy rate to about 12%. But DMV officials say to fully staff the driver’s license offices, they need authorization and money to hire more examiners.
The state’s population has grown by 2.4 million since 2003, but the DMV says the number of approved driver’s license examiners positions has remained capped at 568.
This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Worker shortage prompts NC DMV to close another driver’s license office indefinitely."
