DMV

Came here without an appointment, but when I was standing in line, one of the clerks came over and announced that since the wait was over an hour they were offering to schedule appointments for the next day! In other words, I could come back the next day without having to wait in the horrendous line! I jumped at the opportunity and I’m so glad I did.
When I returned, I only had to wait a few minutes before my number was called. Overall, I think it took 20 – 30 minutes or so to pay and receive my new car registration. Not too bad!
Parking: it’s an open lot with ample parking, but depending when you come here, you might have to drive around a bit to find a parking spot.
Location: DMV is adjacent to a small shopping strip with a couple eateries in case you want to grab some food to get comfy in line.

Best dmv ever!
They have 27 Windows meaning lots of employees ready to help and shorter wait times also everything is new and the employees are nice.
**Make sure to make an Appointment before coming and you will be promptly assisted.**
On average with appointment we come out in under 1.5 hours
These appointments can be made online at the dmv website.
I live in la jolla and I make the drive down here just because I know how efficient and easy to work with this location is. Thank you San ysidro dmv!

Arrived at 0840 for a 0920 APPOINTMENT. Waited in line to fill out the same paperwork I filled out online for the appointment and didn’t receive a ticket until 0930 (clerk was very nice and helpful). 1000 and still waiting, over 26 booths available but only 6 clerks working. Interesting!
Finally seen at 1010, heads up: they don’t accept credit cards!
Picture taken at 1017 & DONE!
1hr 37min with an appointment

Coming from NY state (aka HORRIBLE experiences at the DMV), I was not optimistic about them here in California. However, when I initially moved and needed to retake the test, this DMV was a dream. Everyone was incredibly efficient and polite. I recently had to go back and request a name change on my license because I am recently married and about a year and half after my initial visit, I can say happily it was not a fluke. I was in and out of there within 30 minutes. My recommendations are: make an appointment, and get there a few minutes earlier than scheduled, and have a good attitude going into it!

It only took 4 hrs to get my RV registered (a 6 minute transaction). Plus the three hrs my wife already spent there waiting in line.

Well… It IS the DMV, I realize this. Not a great location, even with all of the expected DMV stereotyping– And they do exist here. I actually didn’t go with the single star, due to the presence of relatively decent employees here, and an overall clean and newer facility. The overall experience, however, is an overall fail at this Otay Mesa location.
You’ll need to exit on Caliente to get to Business Center now; there is no longer a direct 905 exit. I damn near ended up in old Mexico as I whipped down the 905, looking for the old Business Center Court exit. Yeahhhh… Not there.
I had a 9:20 AM appointment here, but on a Monday– So I arrived at 9:00 sharp. The system to check in appointments is EXTREMELY poor here; It’s a manual book check. I didn’t even get a ticket until 9:40, and wasn’t seen until 10:10 — 50 minutes past my appointment time. The line for regular check-​ins was moving much quicker, as the result of Professor Check-​In taking 2 or 3 minutes just to check off each person in the printed (!) log. What a joke– This actually ended up being the worst DMV experience I’ve ever had.
Stick with the Clairemont or Normal Heights locations– This place stinks, and will waste your time like no other. Two stars for cleanliness, decent attitudes and plenty of parking, but the rest of it is a freak show.

Where to begin. Parking sucked. I had my apt @ 9:30. The walk in line was shorter than the apt line. I waited in the «apt» line for an hour. I really don’t see any point of making an apt when the walk in line went faster than the apt line. Waited another 30 mins to be called. The guy who helped me was really nice. In all left almost two hours later even with an apt.

I know. Who reviews a DMV right?! But this one was great!
I had an appointment at 9am. Showed up at 8:40am in a Friday am and got in the appointment line which had about 6 people in front of me. The non appointment line was much longer, but wasn’t terrible. It took about 10 mins got my ticket and found a seat.
When I got there they were on 09 and I was 25. It took about 15 mins and I was called and got my license renewed and picture taken. All in all, I was back to my car after 40 mins.
Everyone was super friendly and in a good mood. Parking was a breeze.
Just make an appointment before! And no beverages allowed.
Best DMV ever!

Good service, if you have an appointment you’ll be in and out really fast!
Best time to find parking: 1 to 2 pm!

The absolute biggest joke of a DMV! Waited 30 minutes in line, have been waiting 2 hours in my seat and still have 20 more numbers until I am called. I’m looking at the line right now and it is literally out the door wrapped around the building! I don’t understand how the clerks can sit and have conversations with the person at their counter knowing there is like 300 other people waiting patiently to get in and out. They want to sit and talk and smile and talk about stuff that has nothing to do with what they’re here for… Person at the counter my advice to you is take their number and paper do your little typing find out the info you need to and send them on their way! Because the DMV is a place people want to get in and get out not be at all day

Had a road test and we waited 2 hours on the long queue. You can tell that they’re short staffed. Examiners looked tired and stressed out. My examiner Mary was an ass and a racist.

We had an appt for 1pm and waited more than an hour for the road test exam. They said that the appointment time is the time you check in and not the road test appt time. So be prepared when you come here and from our experience, you can check in regardless of your check in time which we thought was our road test appt time. There’s also only 1 or two Examiners and they are short staffed. Be prepared to wait a loooooong time like a black friday line at a store! Good luck!

We were pleasantly surprised by this DMV. We need to go to get my wife a new license the other day. Somehow, we were able to make an appointment online the day before. We had attempted to go to the Clairmont office the day before, but found the line to get a number out to the parking lot.
Having an appointment made this experience much better. The fastpass line for appointments was running at least 5x quicker than the other line. The staff were all very professional and helpful, unlike other visits to the DMV. This place was crowded, as expected. The only negative comment we would have would be the power tripping security. We had an infant in a carrier, so our options for seating were fairly limited. Each time we settled on a place, he would come through and tell us we were in the way, or he was holding the seats for someone. We obliged and allowed his manhood to grow a little bigger… not a big deal. The rest of the team made up for it. We were in and out in under two hours, which again is impressive in my books. Well worth the extra 20 minute drive. It was kind of cool to be able to stare over at Tijuana on the way in too.

Make an appointment and you won’t be disappointed. This DMV had the quickest available appointments in SD and it’s a newer building so it’s nicer. The people here are nice too and it’s not dark or dingy and weird smelling. I won’t go to any other DMV from now on and I’ll ALWAYS make an appointment first.

It gets 2 stars for the quick turn around to get in and out. It looked daunting at first as the appointment line looked long. The line quickly moved along though and I was able to sign in and get a # to speak to a field rep to renew my license. That field rep was the typical level of government efficiency. Spoke down to me the entire time and acted like it was a bother to do her job. She wore a fat diamond encrusted gold watch… and that implied she gets paid to treat the public like garbage. After dealing with her I was sent to the photo line where no one was manning the camera. I stood there for about 10 minutes waiting (alone mind you). I saw another line taking photos across the room and thought maybe I was supposed to be there. As I started walking in that direction another field rep saw me and pointed me back to the unmanned camera telling me to wait there. She finally took my photo and btw she didn’t even let me look at it. She sent me off telling me the ID would be in the mail in a few weeks. The only positive that came out of this was the wait wasn’t long. Everything else was inefficient. Service was typical DMV service. Crap-​tacular. State employees seem to get away with this.

For those that are complaining and deducting stars due to the line: Did you make an appointment? If the answer is «no», it’s your own damn fault. Everyone nowadays makes an appointment. Only reason why I didn’t in this case was because I was still registered back in SD while I was up north doing my internship — hence I didn’t know I had to visit the DMV in person until less than 2 weeks before my license was to expire. When I did make an appointment back in the day (forgot exact reason), it took me less than 20 minutes to get whatever I needed to get done. When I didn’t (this time to get my license renewed), it took me a little less than 2 hours to be seen. Moral lesson: MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
Notes about this particular DMV
— This was the place that I took both my written and driving test *way* back in the day (not gonna age myself). First time taking the test I had an older lady and was one point off from passing the first time. Second time was a younger male and I was several points from the cutoff. Hmm…
— Ample parking and seating all times that I was there.
— Semi-​comfortable chairs.
— Once my ticket was called, I experienced good service. The staff understand your plight and want to make your experience as painless as possible.
CONS
— Nobody knows how long it’s gonna take once you’re in the queue. Their ticker wasn’t working and the guy at the counter processing all the requests wasn’t able to tell me how long it would take to get through the queue. At least one should have right to know the waiting time. If restaurants can give an estimated time, so can the DMV.
— 2 – 3 week wait to get the real license. You have a paper license in the interim, which isn’t acceptable ID for bars. Passports, though a more «official» ID document than a license, are a lot more clunky and some bars don’t accept passports as acceptable ID.
SUGGESTION: PLEASE have free Wi-​Fi. This will make the wait much more bearable for everyone.

The appointment was very short once I arrived but I can say different for those who didn’t have an appointment! I came about 15 minutes early to my appointment and was out in one hour.
They messed up on my name and I had already taken my picture so they had to retake it, sadly I liked my first picture a lot better than my second picture :(
But I passed my permit test!
One of the ladies seemed to have an attitude, when I went to the window, but the other staff was really nice!

IT was the DMV, had an appointment and it still took 2 hours. This is why I plan to get an AAA membership and use the DMV services there for vehicle tags.

Parking is a struggle at this location but it’s spacious and modern when your inside the building. They do have lots of windows open to keep up with high demands of Southbay folks!

Had an appointment for 10:10am came in as a walk in around 8:40a and took my renewal DL test. I was in and out in less than an hour and a half.
This place is low-​key sort of hidden even though it’s further from the other DMV offices it’s worth the drive due to the short time it takes to be seen.
I recommend coming in at 8ish in the morning.