The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles will be closing the Nags Head office until further notice, while the Elizabeth City office will be open on an appointment-only basis until further notice as part of the state’s response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The status of license plate agencies, which operate as independent contractors for the state, was not included in Tuesday’s announcement from the NCDMV.
The total of 60 offices closing statewide have the fewest examiner stations or have office setups that make it difficult to provide customers with space recommended by the CDC, according to a press release.
That includes the DMV location at 2808 South Croatan Highway in Nags Head. Customers who have appointments at those offices are being contacted and will be given new appointments once those offices re-open.
Affected employees will be re-assigned to help staff the more than 50 offices that are scheduled to remain open, or to assist at DMV customer service call centers.
The open offices, including the office at 1164 US 17 in Elizabeth City, will be transitioned to handle appointment-only visits and will limit the number of customers allowed inside at the same time, depending on the office size.
They will also no longer conduct road tests except for commercial driver’s license and medical reassessments.
All customers for the driver license offices will be asked to complete a wellness questionnaire provided by the state health officials to mitigate the potential spread of the virus in our driver license offices.
Customers who have appointments at the open offices can keep those appointments, except for driving tests, and will be given priority if they reschedule their appointments after offices re-open.
Appointments can be made by calling the DMV customer center at (919) 715-7000.
“The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority,” said DMV Commissioner Torre Jessup. “So we are putting in place a number of measures to better protect everyone from the spread of the virus.”
“As always, we encourage everyone to conduct their business online if possible,” Jessup said. “We are all in this together and everyone has an important role to play in the safety and well-being of the public.”
The DMV services that can be handled online include license and registration renewals, and ordering a duplicate license and registration card. Customers are encouraged to visit www.ncdot.gov/dmv to review a complete list of what services are available. There are fake DMV websites on the internet so please make sure that you are using a website that includes “.gov.”
Other steps being taken include:
• Suspending the use of mobile offices;
• Suspending road tests except for commercial driver’s license and in-office medical re-evaluations;
• Postponing DMV Hearings for 30 days, with exceptions for insurance liability and safety responsibility hearings, which are conducted by phone; and
• Salvage and special vehicle inspections conducted by appointment only.
All these steps being taken do not apply to DMV License Plate Agencies, as all but one of those is operated either by a contractor or local government. The status of those offices is available on the DMV website.
For information on how to conduct your critical DMV business or if you have additional questions, please visit www.ncdot.gov/dmv. First or official information regarding COVID-19, please visit ncdhhs.gov and governor.nc.gov.
