California DMV turns away thousands of customers as offices close for training

Thousands of customers across California were turned away when they visited the Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday, according to estimates from a “strike team” Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed in January.

The group said 67,000 people go to the DMV on an average Wednesday, which includes 14,000 individuals who scheduled appointments. With offices closed until 1 p.m. and no appointments available for the day, several thousand people weren’t able to access services.

At the Carmichael field office, dozens of customers entered through a gate, hopped out of their cars and walked to the front door only to be greeted by a security guard explaining that the DMV was closed for employee training. Signs were posted on the front doors.

Calvin Watson said he was disappointed to see the offices temporarily closed because he was starting a new job the following day that required him to get an updated license.

“It’s a shame. I need my ID right now,” Watson said. “I have to come back. I have no other choice.”

The training dubbed “Operation Excellence” offered more than 5,000 workers a clearer vision on how to implement Real ID — a program mandated by the federal government requiring people to get a special driver’s license by Oct. 1, 2020 if they want to board airplanes or enter other federal facilities like prisons and military bases without having to bring their passport.

Greg Lawson, said the DMV did everything it could to inform the public ahead of time.

“We have taken great strides in trying to alert the public about the half day closure through our website, social media and mainstream media stories in an attempt to lessen the impact on our customers,” Lawson said in a statement.

But despite the clear messaging, customers like Watson remained confused and upset.

“It should still be open,” he said. “If there’s employees here, I feel like I should be able to go in and get my ID.”

Marybel Batjer, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency, spoke to reporters at the Sacramento DMV location and said she only saw a small handful of customers come into the office. She did acknowledge the training was “unprecedented,” as the state has never before closed all of its DMV field offices to train workers.

Other DMV offices were more chaotic. At the Sacramento South site, dozens of cars passed by the office. Signs were not clearly visible and the gates were closed. Some customers got out of their cars, while others looked on in confusion.

Ajania Zawadi, a security card at the location, said managers told her to close the gates. She also responded to several drivers who stopped their car in the middle of the street near a coned off back entrance. As one car tried to get back onto the crowded road, it nearly got rear-ended.

The DMV said it offered signage of the closure to all office. While some offices have gates, others do not. Managers who know their office are given discretion on how to alert security officers and inform the public.

The closing came as California grapples with Real ID and tries to anticipate a “summer surge” in customers coming in for the cards. According to Batjer’s report released on Tuesday, as many as 28.2 million Californians could request a Real ID between March 2019 and October 2020.

This story was originally published July 24, 2019 at 1:42 PM with the headline "California DMV turns away thousands of customers as offices close for training."