Mid Week, mid month, immediately after opening
and the least amount of people you'll see here all month.

It only took me (4th in the door) a half hour to get things done.

That was a first for speed!!!
At other times, one might have to stand in line for well over 3 or 4 or more hours with wall-to-walk people all around and even out the door. Been there. Done that. Repeatedly. Ugh.

This was the first time I've ever been to the DMV without spending hours and hours.

Surprisingly, people were lined up outside the door waiting for the office to open. Then, things got progressively busier and busier after the doors had been opened and mere minutes ticked away. My photo above was shot when there were only the original 25 or so people who had been waiting outside. The room is over twice as large as in the photo. Over a couple of hundred can squeeze in during busy times.

These days, you need either a passport or a birth certificate to prove that you're a US citizen each time you renew your driver's license. You also need various other items to prove that you're a tax paying resident of the USA; plus, a permanent, tax paying residence of the state. You can't vote in this state without presenting an up-to-date US passport or a non-expired "real, state issued ID" like an up-to-date state driver's license with the "real ID" or with an up-to-date, separate "real ID" card, which costs just as much as a driver's license. One needs to stand in line and pay the fee at the DMV to get a "real ID", even if they don't drive or need a driver's license. Everyone in line seemed to have a bag or folder of paperwork.

I was born in one of the Original 13 colonies (now states) of my colonial ancestors and not where we live now. But at least they didn't hold that against me. Although we've now lived here for an unbelievable 30 years, I'm still an East Coast girl by heart. Nevertheless, I had my license renewed with no problems. Fortunately, I had all the required, proper paperwork, plus some.

*******

Funny side story:
The woman ahead of me in line was newly married and wanted to change the last name on her old license to her new husband's. The desk agent strongly tried to convince her to keep her original name and just hyphenate her new husband's name onto the end. He repeatedly insisted that this would be so much easier for her to have her lisence redone if she changed husbands. He knew nothing about her nor her new husband other than she had just gotten married and wanted to know if she needed a new driver's license. I wonder what this says about the permanence of marriages these days. Guess, that desk agent has dealt with a lot of new brides (with name changes) that didn't stay wives. A woman dropping an ex's name (without keeping part of her maiden name) must require a lot of extra paperwork. The desk agent was probably just trying to be practical. He seemed very nice, but that conversation was a bit peculiar IMO. The new bride refused to hyphenate her old last name with her new last name. The desk agent said that she could just keep her current license as is (with her original name) until it expired. Then, she could decide if she wanted to hyphenate that name with her new husband's name. She said she was going to change her last name to her new husband's & off she went.

Other than that, the whole visit to the Motor Vehicle Office was boring. Wish license renewals could be done on-line. But each time one renews in this state, they need to read an eye chart, take a test to properly identify common road signs, and have a new photo taken. I was lucky in that the desk agent I had was quick. Plus, a couple of people ahead of me were only asking questions and not going through the entire renewal process.