Non appointment patrons are directed relatively quickly once the know where to send you it could take some time depending on how many people are ahead of you, but that's expected. Usually the people working here are very nice, the people who come here is a completely different story, LOL. read more

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The DMV is something that just about everyone has to experience whether they want to or not. Drive test, car registration, verifications, and everything in between. And very few if any are there by choice. Because of that, a lot of people find the DMV to be an unpleasant place. However, if you plan ahead and schedule an appointment, as hard as appointments are to get, you'll have a more streamlined and hassle free experience. Also do your research online and make sure you have the required paperwork for what you want to do because there are usually two or three or even four things you will need before anything the DMV is going to process or do. And since there are thousands of people who use the DMV every day and tons of people in the lines, they don't have much leeway for people who do not have their documents in order. Most of the time you'll have to come back later if something is wrong. If you are here to take a drive test, beware! There's an intersection where there is a let turn that is not an arrow and you have to yield to oncoming traffic. If you get anywhere close when turning they automatically fail you. It's a dirty trick so just be prepared. Overall, this place is always busy and handled mass volumes of people all the time. They do a decent job as it given the resources they have and what's available. read more

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Hi, I am a resident of Santa Ana. One supervisor at the DMV rudely interjected a conversation I had w/ the clerk & falsely said I need a vehicle w/ insurance & registration. The appointment is for the written knowledge test. Court appointment to answer a citation in a couple days. Need driving permit to proceed. DMV employee's called police & threatened arrest. Asked to leave premises. Live 5 minutes away. Social work & human services professional. Ushered away & asked to go elsewhere. read more

Today's visit to the DMV was truly a test of patience. There were so many people, and the line was extremely long. In the end, we waited almost 2 hours just to get to the window. Everything moved very slowly, and it felt quite disorganized. I hope it will be better next time, but for now the experience was very disappointing. read more

DMV - "DMV level: expert patience unlocked after 2 hours in line." - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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Absolutely horrible NEVER COME HERE! I The place is cramped, there's barely any space to stand. The security guard was passive aggressive, AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE LADY AT WINDOW 7. The lady in the pink sweater or cardigan had the nastiest attitude, she has gray hair and I think leopard print glasses. My experience with her was the WORST. When my number was called, I walked to the window 7 ON TIME. The old lady told me that I was late and had to get a new number, MA'AM I WAS LITERALLY RIGHT THERE. I hope the dmv genuinely fires her, she clearly isnt a good worker and gives very passive aggressive feedback. I hope whoever reads this review takes it truthfully, not coming from a bot like others. IF I COULD PUT ZERO STARS I WOULD -99999/0 WOULD NEVER RECOMMEND DONT COME HERE IF YOU VALUE YOUR TIME read more

Although it was a bit of a wait, because I didn't have an appointment, about 1 hr and 45 minutes. Once my number was called to window #6 Maria was friendly and efficient. She took care of all the things I came to the DMV to fix. I was finished within 8 minutes. Then I was sent to the photo line and within 10 minutes my photo was taken and I was finished. read more

I recently had a need to go to DMV to renew my driver license. I made appointment on line and uploaded the needed documents. This is the first time, I visited this DMV location as other two locations I tried didn't have any appointments available. When I arrived in the afternoon, I was surprised that the parking still had spaces available. After I checked in at the counter for people with appointments. I was told to sit and wait for my number to be called. I waited for about 15 minutes and was called to a window to complete the process. I was done and walked out in about 30 minutes in total. I was very impressed with the entire process and won't mind coming to this location if there is a need in the future. read more

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Came here on Monday at about 4:20pm, no appointment, and finished around 5:11pm Very quick !! read more

It's the dmv so it sucks. Make an appointment, it'll still be a 2 hour wait after your appointment time tho so bring snacks and drinks. Also there are two restrooms inside. Single person. Hope if you're reading this you pass your test or get all your stuff taken care of! read more

This post is specifically for one of the managers there last name Mcley. My friend and I were in the process of transferring the title of a car we bought from auction. Long story short since the whole thing is a complicated one...after many visits to different locations, talking to many different staff and getting send back and forth to different offices, we came to this location since its closes to my work location. After waiting and talking to the staff there ( showing the documents we had ), the staff that helped us had his manager helped us. After Manager Mcley looked through the documents and asked us some questions, he was able to quickly solve the whole problem and provided us a solution, proper paper work to get it done. Less than 10 minutes of the time he spent taking care of it comparing to many staff looking over, figuring out and many visits, FINALLY i was able to finish the whole process and get documents done. MOST IMPORTANTLY! He was patient and friendly. Thank you for your service and efficiency! read more

I made an appt and on the day of, I arrived at the dmv to find out that the appt is meaning less and I still have to check in as a non appt :( read more

No one likes going to the DMV. Period! But I was pleasantly surprised by this location. They are very organized. And the system works! Try to get an appointment if you can. If you can't, complete the application online (if available). It will save you a ton of time waiting there! I completed my name change documentation online. That helped me to move quicker through the line. I was in and out of the DMV within an hour or so. Name change on my DL and new photo. Pretty fast for the DMV! read more

DMV - Inside - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Some tips, if you're going in for a driver's license renewal or Real ID: * Make an appointment. The earliest available was 2 months out. * If you're using a LEASE for an address verification, make sure you print out the page with signatures of you/leasing office. I only printed the first 2 pages of the 13 page lease, and they told me I couldn't use it because it didn't have the signatures page. * You can use your CAR REGISTRATION for address verification, which you probably already have in your dashboard. * PRINT all your verification documents out and bring them. You can't just show them on your phone. * You can only check in for your appointment 10 minutes before the actual appointment. read more

-Easy to make an appointment -Not too crowded -Once I checked in by phone, I was called in almost immediately -The woman was patient with while I got my real id squared away -Woman who took my photo was friendly -All in all, pretty straight forward and fast experience read more

Many employees are very rude not friendly at all. They don't interact with anyone. They dont even greet you or say hi or you're welcome.

1. Efficient process/ procedure 2. Knowledgeable staff 3. Simple but effective technology 4. Pleasant, great customer service. 5. Clean office. read more

From the arrival time at the DMV till l am done ( went to the kiosk entry till took picture) in 1 hour. Very efficient. Go my DL renewal in 1 week. read more

Department of Many Venues! So many windows! Licenses, ID's, Registrations, Permits! The DMV does so much. While I am not a fan of the agency, I am a fan of the three amazingly nice people I met that helped me. I don't know if the same people work in the same windows, but the very nice triage guy at the very first check-in window and the very nice lady at window 15 made my day. I followed all the directions on the DMV paperwork and website before coming in. Yup, they sure make it complicated. The thing is... if you read the directions and do "exactly" what they tell you, you will be just fine. Check and recheck all your paperwork. Do it even 10 Times! It will save you in the long run. I checked for their non busy times. You can check for the approximate wait times for each site on their webpage. I checked and it said 0 minutes wait time. I checked google and it said "not very busy." I drove over here like a bat out of hell ( I obeyed all traffic laws of course and did it safely). I got here and went to the start line. Less than 29 minutes later, I was out of there and back in my car. I love that they play up to date music! Remember!!!! Follow Directions and Tripple Check your documents! Driving is not just a privilege but a necessity. It is not a right. read more

DMV - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Santa Ana, California

No matter how good the technology gets, The employees at the DMV are sorely lacking in people skills. They take pleasure in arguing with people and it seems like it makes them happy to reject people's applications they have horrible attitudes and are very unreasonable read more

What could improve here? Just about everything. The parking lot isn't big enough to handle even half the cars that show up each day and it's chaos before you even walk in. The check-in kiosk said "18-minute wait"...that was just for finding a parking spot, because I ended up waiting two full hours. Classic DMV math. Easily the worst DMV experience I've ever had: disorganized, understaffed, and completely unprepared for the volume of people. And yep, it's run by the government what a surprise. Total joke. read more

Overall this morning was surprisingly good as far as get in and out in 45 minutes with NO APPOINTMENT. However, I have to say something about the lady who helps give out numbers. She has "blondish" hair and has very distinctive LOUD and BRASH voice and demeanor, BIG TURN OFF!!!! She might be the sweetest lady outside of DMV walls, but your first impression when you hear her as you're in line is "Please, don't let me get in her station". I was unlucky and got her, yeah, she's brash and sounds like a drill sergeant. Good luck. read more

Review for license renewal - In at 9:05, finished at 9:20. Amazing! Tips: -made appointment online -completed the eCourse online -uploaded the verification documents -paid online read more

they have called 15 gs in a row while 0 bs, i hate coming to this one but it was the closest. never making this mistake again

Never again ! I had an appointment I waited in line I was next in and then they shut down all lines for computer problems. I understand about glitches in the system however, nobody said a thing they just let us stand in line while they closed up their stations. I just walked out. I will never go to this location again !no communication!! read more

Friendly and respectful staff not a very long way time and security all around a very fun and very inviting!!

Honestly most people want to visit the DMV like they want a root canal. True timeline and helpful tips: For a Drivers Licence Permit with NO APPOINTMENT. - set up onlin acct at DMV.ca.gov - finish application online and get a code to bring with you to DMV We arrived 6:40am and were 12th in line to enter the DMV office at 7:05am. After checking out documents we were given a ticket number and instructed to return to the office at 7:30am. We waited approximately 20 mins (with a ticket number of 015), 10 minutes for window transaction. Offer a cheerful Good morning and use your please and thank yous. These people are overworked, probably underpaid and underwhelmed by working here. Being nice goes a long way. Picture and testing went fast and we exited the office by 8:40am. I was expecting the the worst but this really want bad all things considered. Thanks, Santa Ana! read more

I am sure I am not the only person hating to go to dmv, right? I am surprised this place is getting better due to some services are now offer online. I got my thing done within an hour without an appt. The area is not good, but at least the parking is big and just go in and out and take off. read more

Security guards and staff are very rude for a government agency that's gets paid through our tax dollars least they could do is be courteous. Also for the amount of tax money they receive their websites don't work, today was a rainy day and there is no place to sit we are asked to leave the building making it a potential liability if we fall with the floor being wet. And to top it all off they ask for you to wait in your car but their website for E-line does not even load!!. How am I supposed to know it's my turn if I'm waiting in my car!!!??? read more

DMV - E-line webpage does not even update or load!!!!? What a waste of tax payer income!!!! - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Trying to rate this with context of a DMV: Monday and Fridays are the busiest days so if you can avoid these. The building inside and out in the late afternoon was PACKED with people waiting and lining up. It was quite scary the volume and types of people there. Borderline homeless looking people, including the security guard as well.... Parking can be a nightmare so if there are a lot of cars circling around immediately just look for street parking south or east of the building. There was a park or something next to it. Or risk it and park in a business nearby. I had an appointment to change license from out of state back to california (because i had one like 8 years ago) so the renewal was easy. Just written test. The whole process still took almost 2.5 hours with of course most of it being waiting. For the written driving test: READ THE HANDBOOK. It doesn't matter how smart you are or how good you are at driving. It DOES NOT TEST those things. It has some common sense things and then some really niche situations that don't make any sense unless you read the handbook. read more

DMV - rivian AAA - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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We pulled into spot 945 with appointment at 10 am. Went inside and they told us to pull into test line. Waited about half hour and then my son started test. Text took 17 minutes. He passed. All the people at the DMV were very friendly and it seemed to go so fast. His male instructor was kind of a jerk and my son said he wanat friendly while testing him but thankfully he passed. Said he drove too slow at times he was rude when talking to my son too. But overall it was easy and I highly recommend this DMV. in and out a lot fasted than when my 2 older kids went about 8 years ago. They've improved the lines too with having separate areas for separate dmv appointments. read more

Wow. This place truly surprised me. I came here with no appointment and did a walk in. I intentionally came near opening time because we all have the fear of long lines at the dmv. I was in and out of the dmv in less than 20 minutes without any appointment. The way this office is organized and how efficient they are really shows. The only downside to this place is the extremely small waiting area. However if I'm only sitting for 5-6 minutes, that is completely fine. read more

I don't know why this place gets such bad reviews. Nobody wants to go to the DMV, I'd rather get a root canal. I went today and the workers were very nice and professional (except the photographer who was a d). Yes the wait was horrible but that's because hundreds of people go there every day. read more

The dreaded notice that you can't renew your driver's license online is always a sad day. I guess you should have a new picture taken at least once a decade, but I thought after going through the whole Real ID process a few years ago, I would be spared, but no... The California DMV website says some places are open on Saturday! This is great, so I don't have to take time off work. Well, none of those are around me. Now it's time to figure out when I can take time off versus finding an appointment. The only appointment that fit my schedule was at this DMV in Santa Ana. I've never been here before, but it's close. So, I picked a Friday afternoon, hoping it was a mistake. Trying to do as much as possible online could have been clearer. It kept telling me I needed to upload proof of residency, which I did, and then emailed a confirmation code to scan at the DMV. Of course, on a hectic Friday afternoon, did I bring the email? Of course not. *sigh*. Now, the seriously worst part about the experience is the parking. I got there about 15 minutes before my appointment and spent those 15 minutes driving around waiting for someone to leave, which meant timing my trips around the parking lot just right. It was worse than the mall the weekend before Christmas. Now, it wasn't bad enough that cars were all jockeying for the best or any spot; people were walking around, not paying attention! How many people got hit by a car in this parking lot? Crazy! Once inside (shortly after 3, which was when my appointment was), there was no waiting in the "appointments" line. Since I didn't bring my confirmation code, I had to go to another room and redo everything I did online, but it was much easier this time. They had me take a picture of the new confirmation code to show when called. After about 30 minutes, my number was finally called, and I left for window 23. The lady who assisted me was delightful. Efficient, yet friendly enough. She had me read the eye chart, and I joked if she had all 24 possible lines memorized, and she smiled and said, "Oh yes." It was time to take my picture, which was another line, but only two people were in front of me, so it went fast. I noticed on my paper to give the photographer that she wrote "photo, no test" and a smiley face. As instructed, I went back to the same person after the photo. She was surprised at how fast I returned. She gave me my old license back, along with my temporary one, and I was on my way. There was no need to prove I was a resident or anything that the website indicated, and I had brought everything needed just in case. Overall, once you find a place to park, it wasn't a bad experience. I stood while waiting; although a few chairs were open, I could have sat. There's only one bathroom (that I saw), and it could have been nicer, but it worked. I was there for about an hour total. Let's hope I don't have to visit again for another 8 or more years. read more

If there's one thing consistent about the DMV, it's their reputation for delivering some of the most hellish customer service experiences imaginable. Unfortunately, today's visit only reinforced that stereotype. While the driver's license renewal process itself went smoothly, thanks to a helpful and pleasant clerk, the experience of taking the required photograph was appalling and frankly unacceptable. The woman assigned to take photographs was rude, condescending, and shockingly unprofessional. She barked orders at people, young and old, as if they were doing something egregiously wrong simply by not standing perfectly in line or failing to remove their glasses quickly enough. Her tone was especially harsh and uncalled for. At one point, I witnessed her yell at a young Asian girl for not standing "correctly" and then aggressively demand she remove her glasses. Moments later, she berated another woman with a repeated and patronizing "Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, do you speak English? Do you understand English, ma'am?"--an interaction that was not only disrespectful but downright humiliating. Her demeanor, with her red face and bitter expression, made the process unnecessarily stressful for everyone. The frustration didn't stop there. After the photo, we needed to close out the process at windows 23 and 24. The signage was unclear, and when we asked an employee at the check-in kiosk for help, she too was unnecessarily rude, snapping, "There are signs everywhere, you have to look," instead of simply pointing us in the right direction. It's baffling why basic courtesy is so hard to come by in this establishment. Why are DMV employees so bitter? Why hasn't anything changed for the better? This behavior is unacceptable in any workplace, let alone one that serves the public. Train your employees to be respectful and professional--or, better yet, replace those who clearly hate their jobs and take it out on innocent customers. Fire the woman taking photographs or at least provide her with serious training on how to interact with people respectfully. Until this DMV makes significant changes to its customer service policies and employee conduct, it will continue to be a place that people dread visiting. Yet again, this was another infuriating and unpleasant experience. Rating: I gave it a 2 star because of nice clerk. read more

People are rude, was accused of lying when I said I did my form online, while pulling up the confirmation, she proceeded to help another customer while I was standing there. Then when I finally showed her I asked why it didn't show and she said, cause you dit it just now, except for the fact it shows I did it days ago and the documents were already uploaded. Finally got what I needed and when i went back to finish up, I tried to go up to the lady that I was told to finish up with cause the one helping me went on break, but when I did she angrily told me, "get back in line, you don't come up until we call you" then the next guy called me, and i went to him and then she said, what are you doing there, you were supposed to come up to me to finish it, and I was like , what the crazy? People in line even laughed out loud. But the guy was nice who was helping me and was like i'll just do it, it took 2 seconds for him to do. The lady also while everyone was in line wanted to have a 3 minute conversation about break time and when to go on break with the other guy while he was doing work. The guy was koo the two ladies, not so much. Also the first lady when I first walked in was great too, but over all felt completely disrespected. Find another dmv read more

On 5/7 around 9:10 am. I was basically harassed by this "security" employee at the DMV. I pulled in to the "driving test" lane, we were waiting for my sister since she was the one taking the test and borrowing our car to do so. My partner gets out the car to get my sister & the "security" guy started yelling, "you have to park somewhere else you can't stay here once your boyfriend gets that come back" I said okay. Clearly I couldn't reverse out of that lane since it's a one way only. So I pulled out, waiting to check if there's a spot open he starts walking over to me, I see him take a photo of my license plate with his personal phone. Then starts to yell again "you're blocking the lane I already took your license plate photo and called my supervisor" I'm like what is happening right now, there's cars coming both ways I couldn't turn. At this point it had become so overwhelming I have my 19 month old son in the car with me. The dmv opened at 9! & this guy was already arguing with other drivers. He kept threatening me with his supervisor over nothing. This guy needs a reality check, his ego is so big to make up for the rest of height. He even posed for the photo. Then later was telling my partner to delete his photo. The other employees were nice, but this guy get rid of him. Harassing people at 9 am for no reason. read more

DMV - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Santa Ana, California

I'm not sure which person I spoke with but she claimed to be a manager and completely misinformed me. I had to go to another DMV just to get my license because this woman had no idea what she was talking about. The situation this woman put me and making me go through hoops all to find out It was her not being educated (is what the real issue was, not me having everything i needed) is what makes me extremely upset about this situation. Maybe i wouldn't care this much if i didn't have to waste a plane ticket to take a trip back home to get this updated in California. Never going back to this DMV. The lady taking my photo was extremely nice though to end on a good note. read more

Although the place seems very busy and a bit hectic, I have to thank to DMV appointment system and how helpful everyone one was at this DMV location. With my appointment, I have received notifications for every step. The security person at the door was very helpful and explained to me what my next step was and what I could do (either wait in the car until my desk is assigned or wait in the lobby). My total wait time was less than 5 minutes once I notified I was at the facility via text. The agent who helped me was so helpful and understanding. I walked out of the facility with my renewed vehicle registration in less than 15 minutes with no hassle and. Thank you to everyone working at this location as well as to DMV system!! read more

Make sure you check the hours and get there early! Also definitely try to get an appointment before you go. Having said that, the parking lot is huge so as long as you get there early, there's lots of parking! At the entrance, they're two lines with easy to read signage, one says "appointments" and the other says "no appointments" so you know exactly what line you need to be in. If you don't have an appointment and have to stand in line outside. You may want to bring a small folding chair.Once you're inside, processing is very organized and moves very quickly! 1st, DMV staff - with hand held signs - tells you what window to go to. At that window you are given a number, then you go sit in a waiting area , your number is not only called, but there's a screen where you can see the number and that's the number you're going to be called to a specific window for processing. I was lucky enough to go to Window 19 and Marisa helped me. She was extremely professional, positive attitude, a consistent smile and very efficient. After the eye chart and paying for my DL/Real ID renewal, I went to the camera, which was just a few steps away, and Christine was just as pleasant and efficient. This is the best DMV experience I have ever had - and believe me, this was not my first rodeo! I didn't feel like a number and the staff - including front door security - was very pleasant and professional. read more

Great experience here! Parking lot is good and found parking quick. I had a appointment for REAL ID at 10:00am and arrived at 9:46am and was done at 10:45am. Outside you line up to come in since they can't fit so many people inside . The only part that was not clear is which line is for appointment and non appointment. But had to ask to make sure was on right line. I highly recommend making an appointment and make sure you have your confirmation code number and print it and bring with you! Also do the application online before coming. After checking in, it took about 30 min before I was called to a window. And you just need to verify the info on the screen, do a finger print, pay (it was $31 and they accept all payments), and then that's it. After this step I had to get my photo taken. Both ladies at the window and photo desk was very friendly and nice. The lady checking in for appt was not so friendly but that's how it goes. Their job is getting people through quick so have to be a bit firm. Overall very good experience! read more

DMV - The signs outside which are not clear lol - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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