Add that planned trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles to the list of things put on hold thanks to the coronavirus outbreak.
Starting Friday, the California DMV closed all of its field offices. When employees return to work April 2, they will be providing services only virtually. All in-office appointments are canceled, and the doors to the DMV’s more than 170 field offices will remain closed to the public.
In a memo to employees on Thursday, obtained by the Sacramento Bee, the department announced it was shutting down its branches to “protect the health and safety of customers and employees during the coronavirus pandemic.”
Employees are on administrative leave until April 1 while their offices are disinfected. They will return to work and undergo training on processing online forms.
Instead of serving people inside the field offices, the DMV will launch a “Virtual Field Office,” with which customers will be able to “complete vehicle title transfers and complex vehicle registration renewals” beginning April 2, with more services “gradually” being added after that.
Multiple DMV employees, many of whom deal with dozens of people in close proximity each day, complained to the Los Angeles Times about feeling unsafe at work.
“I feel that’s a great choice,” one employee told the Times. “A little late, because we still don’t know who’s been subjected to [the coronavirus], who might have it, but I think it’s a big first step from the DMV.”
One DMV employee in Riverside tested positive for COVID-19, prompting a quarter of that office’s employees to call in sick the next day, according to the Bee.
With services already cut back, DMV customers were down 82% before the decision to close the offices. It had stopped accepting walk-ins, reduced seating in lobbies, granted 60-day extensions for license renewals and reduced hours, including eliminating weekend appointments.
Californians have at least one more reason to put off their DMV appointment. The Department of Homeland Security delayed the deadline to upgrade to a REAL ID until Oct. 1, 2021.
While employees are on leave until April 2, DMV online services will continue at dmv.ca.gov, and people can also use hundreds of kiosks throughout the state or through the department’s business partners. The customer service centers will also continue to operate during regular business hours, 1-800-777-0133, or through the live chat on the DMV website.
