I came with my son to the DMV in order to have him do his written test. We forgot one of the required documents and the DMV employee gave us the opportunity to come back within the next 30 minutes with the documents so that my son could take the drivers test. Debbie was the DMV employee at the Poway DMV who helped us not only was she very friendly she gave me and my son grace! Every parent going through this process knows how stressful this can be and Debbie made our day by going above and beyond! The DMV in Poway was the DMV that I went to when I was getting my permit and drivers license and come full circle. I'm here with my son. Thank you so much, Debbie, for making this experience for me and my son definitely a memorable one! :) read more

Alright.. I gotta take accountability here. I waited and waited to get a Real ID. I mean I have a passport, so I can use that to travel. Honestly, I felt pretty golden given my passport isn't set to expire for a long while (just got a new one!)... however.... I did not (in all my self satisfied feelings of not bending just yet to "the man") anticipate that my drivers license was set to expire... I no longer had the option of just going online and having one sent to me. Nope. That ship sailed. I'd have to go take my beating like the rest of everyone else. But now I'd have to do it in a time crunch without appointments available. Did this to myself. I take accountability. I absolutely understand that this is my fault. So I can't fault the crazy line in the "no appointment" line. No Sir! That was on me (Although I'm kinda bummed at even a month they didn't have appointments I could book), and this is what I deserved for being so "smart." At the very least they have online check in. So you can get in line virtually and wait from the comfort of a nearby destination. No appointment?!? Either get here at opening or get checked in online. Trust me. The physical line is long and it's just an awful experience to even be inside the building. It's crowded, people are not in good moods, and it's a slow line. This is about 9:30ish. By 9:45 there wasn't a seat to be seen. While I checked in early I decided to poke my head in and see if maybe I could get in even earlier but that was a hilarious thought lol No way was that happening for me. Options if you are waiting at the location? Well, you can tool around Walmart. Grab some food (saw a taco place among others), stand outside like a lot of the younger folks tend to do, or you can wait in the comfort of your car. Which is what I chose. Every now and then checking to see where I was in the line via mobile. But let's ask the real question on everyone's minds...how did my new picture turn out? Awful!!!! Just so bad everyone!!! I don't know how they managed to make someone with a weak chin look like they had a Jay Leno chin... but they somehow managed that feat! Sigh.... read more

ABSOLUTELY AVOID THIS DMV. "Angel" the "manager" is SUCH A PAIN IN THE A**. I can't even describe how RUDE she was. Everyone in line was complaining about her. Can't seem to MANAGE her own attitude. In that case just stay home. Every person going up to window 1 was COMPLAINING about her today and about her attitude. She was throwing papers and ID's around and couldn't even make eye contact. And just to make sure I am describing her correctly, she has tattoos on her right arm. read more

Poway DMV - This is her ID, I know its not clear but thats all I could take - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Poway, California

What is the usefulness of an appointment if you are more than an hour off? Why send reminders 10 minutes before a scheduled appointment without even noting the massive discrepancy in time. Behind the wheel tests involve two unpaid people: a teen is out of his summer job and a parent out during the DMVs very limited hours. Epic fail on the part of the DMV. It is your job to schedule and stay on task the same way it is the students responsibility to learn to drive and to pass your exam read more

On top of being completely incompetent, the staff are assholes. Truly worthless pieces of shit. Likely the only job these morons can get. Can't put a sentence together much less be actually useful. Amazing fit for the DMV and working with the general public! read more

I know no one likes going to the DMV which is why they always get bad reviews but I promise I'm not a Karen this place is genuinely terrible. I came in to get a new drivers license since I just moved here and I was double charged for the license fee. The woman helping me said that "this happens all the time and the other charge will drop off in a day or two" and then proceeded to ask me to pay AGAIN. When I expressed to her that I didn't have enough money in my account to risk being double charged again (I was $92 deep with the possibility of it going up to $184 for a $46 charge!) and I didn't feel comfortable tapping my card again until I saw the charges drop off, she looked at me like I was crazy and rudely said I'd need to get back in line. We had a quick back and forth where I kept my ground and luckily during that exchange, ONE of the charges dropped off, but the other one was still there. She sent me to a different woman where I had to pay AGAIN. It did go through normally, but I was charged three times in total for a one time purchase and only refunded for one of them. Unfortunately, I had other things to do that day, so I left and decided to call my bank to get the charge disputed. 5 days later, Chase was able to remove the additional charge, but I find this entire situation so baffling! I understand that there may be a common system error when paying, but why hasn't it been fixed? They acted so put out and inconvenienced by me being confused why I was being charged basically three times for a one time purchase. I work in customer service, so I understand what it's like experiencing long days of annoying and abusive customers, but the way I was treated was laughable and so unprofessional. Playing with people's money like that is crazy to me. Pick any other dmv. I promise you it can't be worse than this. read more

Aloha gang! Came in to renew my driver's license and update it to Real ID. Since I started the application process online, it streamlined my renewal experience. I arrived at the DMV about 45 minutes prior to opening.. At about 20 minutes before the doors opened an associate came out to make sure people were in the correct lines and to help with any questions. She also assisted Real ID applicants in having their paperwork ready for processing so that once we entered the building it would speed up the process. I appreciated how well organized this DMV office was and because of this, I was in and out of the office in 15 minutes. read more

Poway DMV - DMV, Poway Ca - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Poway, California

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I had outstanding customer service experience here Her name is Debbie She always polite respect great attitude tthank you Debbie' you made my day read more

I was here yesterday and waited for a while. However their system went down and they were not able to do anything. Was a total waste of time. The staff were friendly and did what they could. read more

I came here last Monday morning to renew my DL -- it was time for a new photo. From the time I checked in to being finished was less than 30 minutes! Everyone i encountered was friendly and helpful. Parking right at this DMV office is limited, but it's a short walk from the Walmart parking lot. read more

I didn't get the young women's name, but she was so friendly, efficient and fast!! Christmas Eve & it was a smooth transaction, especially for disabled folk like me. She, and almost all employees were decked out on Christmas spirit! DMV of all places! I'm coming here from now on. Parking in busy parking with stores including Walmart get your DMV taken care of and head to Walmart, wowsers! read more

Needed to update my new car info with a new license plate as first one was mailed out to me damaged. I was a morning walk-in. You just check in. The whole process was done in less than a half an hour! Nice,friendly, efficient folk who work there. Highly recommend you go first thing in the morning. Nice mall to shop in & get breakfast nearby afterwards. read more

They know how to take an appointment, they just don't know how to keep an appointment. The employees are all super nice and I worked with 6 people for two dmv issues... but true to form this government agency system is inefficient and poorly designed. Not the employees fault. Not user friendly, not customer (taxpayer) service oriented. I had an appointment for one purpose and no appointment for the other and both issues were addressed about 1 hour after the appointment time. So why bother to make an appointment you might ask? I don't know. Also. Don't come early for your appointment, they won't talk to you or check you in until 10 minutes before. What a messy bureaucratic nightmare. read more

The worse DMV testing department ever and those ladies at the counter was super rude and obnoxious! Testers were super nitpicky. Who knows that when reverse you need to put on your signal?!?!?! I've asked a few driving instructor if there's even such a thing you need to put on your blinker when reverse otherwise you get docked on points! Apparently, it all depends on the tester preference so it was not consistent across the board on testing!!! Another problem issue was a guy came in-between the car right in front of me and guess what I have to do, brake..otherwise he would be hit! Guess what the tester said..?! He preferred that I slow down gradually?!?!? WTF!!!! Trust me- don't ever go to Poway for driving test!!! read more

Paid car registration early. DMV messed up on the license plate and send me back the money saying I already paid. Trying to pay in person so that I can get the sticker. Try to set up an appointment online but none was available. Got here at 8am and stood an hour and half in line and still waiting in-line because one person is servicing both appointments and non-appointment customers. She was slow and only took the appointment customers then she went behind the window and didn't come back to check more customers in for 20 min. THE DMV SCREWED UP ON MY REGISTRATION YET I HAVE TO SYSBD IN THIS LONG LINE. TAX DOLLAR NOT AT WORK!! read more

Poway DMV - Departments of Motor Vehicles Near Me - Poway, California

How many hours of our lives have we wasted attempting to get appointments, standing in long lines an hour before they open, then sitting amongst hundreds of smelly, sniffling, coughing others to just get the bare minimum that's required to operate a vehicle? I've lived in several places in the US and DMV wait times were often 10-15 minutes. Not in California. Plan on taking an entire day off work and waiting for hours for the slowest possible service and to often be told you don't have the right paperwork (even if you do). Now you have to scan a QR code to get in line. There are currently dozens of customers here right now that can't even sign up because the server is overloaded. There's a reason the CA DMV is well-known and mocked as the epitome of the most ineffective, inefficient business model/system out there. California needs to completely overhaul the entire process, and NOT with AI. read more

Poor or not existing customer service, they messed up my son's behind the wheel appointment, they told him to schedule another appointment, it was until talking to the manager that we were able to get an appointment the next day. But people there doesn't care about people. Probably why this location has a LOW passing percentage rate of 48%. read more

I dread going to DMV but I'd like to compliment the gentleman who assisted me. I could've done what I needed done on the phone but DMVs virtual customer service guy, Miles wasn't too helpful with my issues so I opted to take a chance and personally visit the DMV office. Of course I waited at least 2 hours. I wasn't a very happy camper to begin with but the guy who assisted me helped me better understand my predicament. He had empathy and that was good enough. So, I just need to wait for my tabs in the mail. I'm hoping DMV would improve some of their services in the future. It would've save me my time and theirs. I mean their phone customer services. They need to allot a certain block of time during the day that one could converse with a real person. read more

I personally had a fantastic experience. I came prepared with all that I needed for my driving test. I brought my insurance, registration, permit and ID. All the ladies who people say are rude were actually so kind to me! We were all laughing and they helped ease any anxieties I had. My instructor Jason was so kind. My behind the wheel exam was chill, the route was perfect, short, and I only had one error. Jason is the coolest instructor!!! He's very mellow but not rude at all, and is straight to the point. He asked if I had any questions. There was nothing tricky about my behind the wheel test. Love poway dmv! read more

Rachel! She assisted two elderly customers and the kindness, thoughtfulness and respect she demonstrated to both was what this world needs. In case she reads this review, one of the customers was Fred and he has a sister named Rachel so he will never forget your name. Neither will I and you didn't even help me. Thank you. read more

I did not have an appointment but arrived when the DMV opened to renew my license. I am 77 years old so just needed a vision test. The line moved reasonably well and was efficiently divided for different needs once you were inside. Everyone was very efficient! I was pleasantly surprised. read more

Following up on Anilu Rodriguez's comment on google review, we too had a terrible experience there at the Poway DMV! I rarley make a complaint about customer service because I worked in the customer service industry for over 60 years now. They were rude, inconsiderate employees! We now will have made our third appointment to get a behind the wheel test. The first time I too had paperwork from a year ago, when I asked them to check the information online they refused and said I was going to have to come back even though I insisted everything was current. After going home thinking maybe I was wrong I found out I was actually correct. The second time going in, the security guard told is where to go. After waiting in line, getting to the person to direct us where to go next. we were informed we had been in the wrong line and told us we must not have read the permit because it plainly states where to go. Leaving the line, we checked the permit and the part where it says where to go was left blank! We went ahead anyway to the line we were told to (the same lady Anilu complained about) and were told we were an hour too late and would have to schedule another appointment!! I told her it was their fault because we did what we were told! It did not matter nor did it phase the DMV employee!! I went to school in my youth in Poway and grew up in that little town, but I'm embarrassed by the customer service that is practiced by the DMV employees, playing god, that represent our tax dollars at work there!!! I would have given them zero stars but that was not an option! read more

I had a reservation to renew my drivers license and I was in and out in 10 minutes! Every staff member I interacted with was so sweet, which was surprising given the stereotypes about DMV workers. Not only that but I left the documents (proof of residency) on a counter and a worker named Sonia ran out and chased me to my car to give them to me. I'm not sure why this location is so great but I definitely recommend coming here for your DMV needs! Happiest and most efficient DMV workers I've met for sure! read more

the employees there are so rude right when they open at 7am. how can you be that upset with your life your going to be extremely rude to everyone around you.. not one single employee was nice and i know dmv is known for having rude employees but this was next level read more

tldr. unprofessional dmv. did not verify insurance. switched examiners partway though test. new examiner did not give turn instruction then failed for not turning into dmv parking lot. driving test. person behind the desk didn't even ask or check who's name is on the insurance or for the licensed driver that accompanied me. my examiner was switched out partway through just after the vehicle check. new examiner made me wait 15-20 min so she could chat with her co worker. the test itself was normal and I had a near perfect score sheet but was automatically failed because I didn't turn left into the dmv fast enough as my examiner did not state to turn left. I was supposed to just know to return to the dmv parking lot even though I was instructed to only go straight unless otherwise directed. I was approached by 2 other people after the test and asked if I had passed as she had failed them as well. The unfair examiner Is a 5-5 hispanic/Philippine female with dark hair whos name starts with a C. I recommend not taking the test with her as your record would be better without the fail. read more

Prepare yourself online and by bring by a book or something to do. The wait is long, but completely acceptable if you are ready. The staff here was so nice and good at their jobs! read more

I had the worst dmv experience due to an employee there this older man that works on the side where you register for behind the wheel test . Started screaming at me in front of everyone . All I needed was help making one appointment that I've been trying to make for the past to weeks ONLINE and couldn't , since it was the wrong window where they sent me he couldn't help and asked me to move he was busy but with a loud voice to where I was put on a very uncomfortable spot I tried explaining I couldn't make the appt and he started screaming saying he couldn't help me to call a number ( I've been waiting for almost 2 hrs) also I feel like this individual is racist since there was a Hispanic family while I was waiting and he brushed them off because he didn't understand them so they left embarrassed, I don't think in individual like him should be working in a place where coustumer service should be priority, we all are there waiting for long times. It was very rude , desrispectull the way this person treated me in front of everyone just to make one appt ,l. I get there was a line but I had waited for my number to be called . I hope dmv takes into consideration this event and don't let it slide . It really looks bad to have a angry raciest human working there read more