Busy Season for local DMVs

If you are someone who needs to take the driver’s test to renew or receive your driver’s license, be prepared to wait your turn. The drivers testing facility in Plymouth is now booking out until the end of March and beginning of April.

“So our appointment was at 8:20 A.M. and she came back in at 10:02 A.M.,” says Sean Punjwann, whose daughter took the driver’s test.

For Shawn and his daughter, they waited around 2 hours to for her to take the driver’s test.

 “She was about a month and a half out which is also very inconvenient,” added Punjwann. “They want to get their license and having to wait just makes people more anxious.”

Waiting is usually the name of game at the DMV. However, if the wait time to get an appointment seems longer than normal right now, that’s because it is.

A Busy Season

The Department of Public Safety which regulates the DMV declined to do an on-camera interview with CCX News. However, they did tell us the beginning of the school year is traditionally one of the busiest times for scheduling road tests in Minnesota.

There is more demand than there are examiners and available appointments. That demand typically begins to decrease in the winter months, but this year the demand has continued into the winter. However, they say minimizing wait times is a top priority.

“We scheduled mine before my 16th birthday so that we could get in right away,” says Ana Zangel who was waiting in line at the DMV.  “It was a decent amount of time that I had to wait.”

If you plan on visiting the DMV, plan ahead. Before you book your appointment, check with your exam station. Some exam stations schedule a month or more in advance because they only offer road tests once a week or month. However, they say some metro exam stations are opening up appointments weekly right now to decrease the amount of time people have to wait to take road test.

Representatives from the Department of Public Safety say that the best way to get your road test taken sooner rather than later is by checking for cancellations, or appointments that may have been added earlier than what they are currently booking. However, those cancellations and appointments are on a first come first serve basis.

How to Book an Appointment 

For a list of testing facilities click here. You can book a road test by calling one of the facilities on the list and making an appointment. Before you do, you are going to want to make sure you have all the necessary documentation. For a list of the things you will need click here.

Plymouth