State Auditor Releases Troubling Audit of DMV
Today, State Auditor Dave Boliek released two audits examining the performance and IT infrastructure of the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. In his press conference today, Boliek was quick to praise the new leadership, including the new DMV Commissioner, the new NC Secretary of Transportation, and Governor Stein for their commitment to finding solutions.
"I pledged to audit the DMV to get to the root cause of its failure, and the reports dealing with licensing procedures and information systems are now complete," said State Auditor Dave Boliek. "Our audit team has worked hard to find opportunities where the DMV can course correct and effectively serve North Carolina citizens."
"It’s time to solve the DMV problem. North Carolina has the will and the tools to make our DMV better. Our audit lays out some concrete steps to begin the process to fix the DMV," added State Auditor Boliek.
Here are the key takeaways from the performance audit:
Customer service has been declining, with wait times on the rise:
Average DMV wait times stand at 1 hour and 15 minutes, up 15.5% since 2019.
Data shows nearly 14% of visits exceeded 2.5 hours in fiscal year 2025, up about 79% since 2019.
Employees are struggling with workload and burnout:
Only 47% of DMV workers believed DMV fostered open communication.
43% expressed negative views of prior leadership support.
Employees cited low salary, burnout, security concerns, lack of support, and inadequate training.
Average salaries are below $50,000 for examiners in both rural and urban areas.
Staffing levels are unsustainable:
North Carolina’s population has grown by 2.5 million (29%) in the last 20 years, but driver license examiner positions have only increased by 52 positions (10%).
Only 505 of the 710 driver license examiner positions are filled, roughly 160 vacancies remain.
In Harnett County, there is only one examiner serving over 56,000 residents.
Here are some of the key findings from the technology audit:
DMV generates 30% of DOT’s overall revenue, but accounts for only 2.8% of DOT’s expenditures.
Of the 45 performance milestones in the DOT strategic plan for the 2023-2025 biennium, only two directly pertained to DMV operations.
Only 31% of DMV’s staffing requests were included in DOT’s budget requests.
DOT left out DMV customer satisfaction data in its performance report.
DMV was excluded from planning and procurement phases of improvement efforts led by DOT.
Here are some of the key recommendations from the report:
Policymakers should consider establishing DMV as an autonomous agency or authority with direct control over its budget, strategic planning, and operations.
DMV leadership should adopt a comprehensive strategic plan independent of DOT.
DMV should conduct an in-depth staffing analysis to inform a multi-year, phased staffing plan that addresses examiner shortages and ensures service equity statewide.
DMV should build and maintain a centralized performance dashboard to track and report key service metrics.
DMV should partner with an industry expert to develop and implement evidence-based improvements to customer experience and service delivery.
