Not surprisingly, CA has been an s-show at the DMV for a while (delaying doing anything about the Federal license requirements was beyond stupid). As noted with others, appointments where 3 months out. I didn't mind that, so I tried to make an appointment, at least I could pick a time... nope, it's soooo backed up, even the appointments are only available as they show up at the 3 month maximum, so I could not even pick a time!
I live near a DMV, so I showed up at that about 30 min before it opened. There were a good 20 people already in line when I got there, but I was out by 30 minutes after it opened (there were places where people were waiting in line for 4 hours!!). So, showing up super early might be a good option. Maybe less likely the employees will have a chance to get into a bad mood.
aircooled, did you show up without an appointment, and 'it just worked out' or was that the day of your appointment? The situation here seems about the same; you don't get to pick your appointment time & date and the different sites are different levels of backed up, so appointments are landing all over the week and you don't get to pick when. If I did this completely correctly I need to check with work to see what I'm doing the first week of Nov to go during an appointment time that is probably going to be in the middle of the week at some odd time of day. I normally have every other Friday off but I can't set the appointment time myself so that doesn't really help + work travel makes it really hard to know what is going to fit. This is much more complicated than anything I've dealt with before inre: tag & title etc.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
The tag and title can be done by a 3rd party, that's the easy part. It's the license that's messing you up. I'd show up at a main office with the "I didn't know you needed an appointment, I'm from out of State" line and see if you can get your license swapped to MD. At that point, get the car inspected and take all paperwork to a tag and title place, walk out with plates.
I could buy a car Today that was already inspected (that's a thing) and have plates in 30 mins on a Monday because I have a MD license. That's the battle you need to fight first, and the only one that needs to be done at MVA. Do it in stages.
I'm pretty sure it's like that all over country. My mom in Colorado had to wait 45 days to get in the DMV.
And here in Austin it's worse. One of my co-workers is ready to take his CDL driving test, currently scheduled for February
Semi-related, I was picking one of the cars up from the shop (ball joint completely came apart and stranded the car) and asked about getting my other car inspected. They said they were having trouble getting inspection stickers sent to them from the state, due to backlogs in the system or whatever. Halfway through September and they didn't have September stickers to put on cars.
Late to the party as usual.
Kid #2 recently got a Learners Permit. There was a 2 month wait for an appointment, so yes, that's about the right time period.
Confirming other's comments that inspections are done by dealers and shops, not the MVA. Note that the cost of an inspection is legally capped at price that ends up being below most shops labor rate, so they may be interested in finding stuff that needs to be fixed. "Your head lights need to be re-aimed" and "you need wiper blades" are things I've heard more than once.
For title/tag/registration work, I totally recommend and use the independent businesses instead of the MVA offices. I use and recommend Terry's Tag and Title, and I have no relationship with them other than being a satisfied customer. They cost about $20 more than the MVA, and it's worth every penny every time. You might avoid the 2 month wait that way - call and ask.
In reply to Uncle David (Forum Supporter) :
He can't use Terry's with a non MD license. That's the main issue.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
aircooled, did you show up without an appointment, and 'it just worked out' or was that the day of your appointment?
Yes, I showed up without an appointment. Those with appointments when they open clearly get priority, but I think maybe, at best 25% of the people in line ahead of me had them.
I did a Monday, thinking that might be the slowest day for early arrivals(?) Hard to say, obviously depends, but I would show at least 30 min early, with 45 plus maybe better. The front of the line when they open moves MUCH faster then normal (all the windows are open), so the first 6+ people (depending on the size of the DMV obviously) shoot straight in.
Since mine was for an updated license, they did have the option to pre-fill some of your info online, which helps, if you have that option (I think they still ended up asking me the questions anyway).
As a note on inspections, CA doesn't have those, but does have VIN inspections (in some cases). Those are done by the CHP.
I'll try the Glen Burnie MVA (it's big and it's near work) for a license and just get there around 8 and wait for them to open and play dumb about appointments. Then an inspection of the car at a shop. And then the same for the motorcycle. Then I'll try Terry's for tag & title. It seems like I can get tags for the car and motorcycle handled both there.
It sounds like I should just tape over the car's fog lights with black tape; both have cracked lenses and maybe this will get me through.
aircooled: Right, KS only has that same VIN check when bringing in a car from out of state, otherwise no inspection at all. Which would make it pretty easy to just get mailed another year's registration stickers to put on my existing plates. But that's really not fully within the law, plus I just paid the bike off and I need a title transfer, otherwise I've just got lien release paperwork to prove I own the thing and that seems bad.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
If fog lights are on the vehicle they must be functional. I'd leave them alone so they find a reason to fail it (they'll always find something) then unbolt them to pass.
At least you can get it done. Here in NJ, thanks to Covid 19, some DMVs only do licensing and some only do registrations. Somebody in Trenton decided that none of the southern counties can do registrations. They also only have a limited number of people they can service in a day. If I wanted to register the boat I bought back in march, I would need to get up at 4 in the morning, drive an hour and a half away to the closest DMV that does registration, and hopefully get a number that will allow me to get the work done. If I miss the window, I need to do it all over again the next day. If I get one of the last tickets, I am sitting around doing nothing all day till they call me.
oh, and I can't leave. If they call my number and I am not right there.. too bad.
Tried the walk-up & act dumb route 30 minutes before they opened. Got told to split and make an appointment; no locations in the state allowing for walk-ins no matter what.
So much for that.
Forum Marylander here.
MVA was a total E36 M3show before the 'Rona. So far, everything I've had to do with them has been online- vehicle renewals. And even that's been taking longer- like 2-3 weeks to get the new sticker. Luckily I've been able to print out the receipt rom the online transaction and carry that in case I get pulled over.
Agreed on the 3rd party Tag and Title places- you pay a fee and sign a POA for them, and they take care of the heavy lifting. You do NOT want to go into any MVA location if you can possibly help it.
If it were me, and I had a valid out of state license and plates, I would keep them from whatever state they're currently valid. I know Maryland states you're supposed to change them over within xx days of moving, blah blah blah, but this is not "normal" times. When I moved here I had out of state plates for over a year, an out of state license for at least a year, and never had an issue with it. If your old state issued a date sticker (like Maryland does) and it's expired, a MD cop might pull you over for an expired plate. Likewise if your old state has reciprocity with their electronic databases the MD officer might be able to tell immediately if your registration is expired. So you need to keep them valid. Same with your license, obviously.
If you do decide to attempt to visit a Maryland MVA, you might call around and try more rural locations. We have one out in Westminster that's not as terrible; depending on where you are there might be locations out in Harford County that might not be too far. Or plan a nice day trip out west and try the one in Hagerstown...or Cumberland.
On inspections- the Glen Burnie MVA does actually have a garage. I had to take a trailer there for an inspection once. You do NOT want to go here- it's run by the State Police and they have literally nothing better to do all day than fail equipment. You get an inspection done by a private garage, and provide the proof of passing to the MVA to get your full registration. Emissions is a separate deal, run by VEIP, and you'll deal with that later; registration is not contingent upon emissions, at least not initially.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
Tried the walk-up & act dumb route 30 minutes before they opened. Got told to split and make an appointment; no locations in the state allowing for walk-ins no matter what.
So much for that.
That's odd, I walked into the BelAir MD one last month and got new tags. I had no idea it was appointment only. I know it's a ride but Easton or Salisbury might be available sooner because they're rural
the MVA garage is for trailers, kit cars, and VIN confirmation, not vehicle state inspections.
It's plastered all over that it's appointments only; website, the signboard on the sidewalk out front of the building, etc. I knew I was trying to operate outside the lines.
Odd that KS allows people with out of state driver's licenses to get KS plates but MD doesn't. Also no vehicle inspections outside of a VIN check for vehicles coming in from out of state. Basically KS wins on all fronts on this one. They may win my plate money again out of this but I'm just spit balling here.
One thing to think about- the new requirements for the "enhanced" licenses are supposed to take effect next month. I don't know if the 'Rona delayed that or not, but if you plan on doing any international travel, or even any air travel whatsoever even within the U.S., you want tomake sure you have the newer license.
And yes, MD pretty much blows on all counts with regard to vehicle registration, inspections, licenses, and emissions. I lived in SC for a few years and that was much easier. The fact that places like Terry's Tag and Title have to exist, pretty much says it all. I've even saved correspondence with my state legislator regarding how terrible and bureaucratic the MVA is, and he's responded with an actual letter, not just form correspondence. He's been working on MVA reforms, though being of the opposing party to the one that pretty much controls MD state politics, he hasn't had much success.
