Due to health and safety concerns during the coronavirus outbreak, North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles is closing around 60 offices and postponing the majority of road tests. These measures are put in place to protect the staff and customers during this period.
There will still be some DMVs in operation during this temporary shutdown. For transactions that require face-to-face contact, these appointments will be relegated to offices that provide adequate space to accommodate social distancing, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Along with the office shutdown, there will be several road tests suspended until further notice from the DMV. The exceptions to this mandate will be for commercial driver’s license and in-office medical re-evaluations.
Additionally, the DMV will also postpone the use of their mobile offices. Appointments and hearings that can be conducted over the phone, such as insurance liability and safety responsibility hearings will continue regularly. All other DMV hearings will be suspended for 30 days.
DMV offices that are compact in size or contain the fewest examiner stations will be closed during the outbreak. Currently, the number of offices that fit this description is around 60. If customers have appointments already set while the offices are closed, then they will be contacted by the DMV and be rescheduled for a later date.
Around 50 offices will remain open during this period, and staff from the closed stations will be reassigned to help maintain operations or to man call centers.
These shutdowns fall in line with Gov. Roy Cooper executive order that was enacted on Saturday, which banned “mass gatherings.” This limits events that gather more than 100 people in one location at a time.
By engaging in a mass gathering, you will be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor, at the discretion of local police officers and the district attorney.
Violating the order is a Class 2 misdemeanor, and enforcement is up to local law enforcement and prosecutors, said Christine Mackey, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
