DMV to allow walk in service three days a week

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles offices are reopening for walk-in service three days a week.

Virginians can now visit all 75 DMV offices without an appointment each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, department officials announced Monday. Appointment-only service will be offered each Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hours vary by location.

The department closed its offices at the beginning of the pandemic and reopened in May 2020 on an appointment-only basis. The General Assembly adopted a budget during this summer’s special session that required the department to reopen customer service centers for walk-ups within two months. Sen. Chap Petersen, a Democrat representing Fairfax City, has called the DMV’s hybrid plan “not satisfactory,” because it isn’t providing walk-in service every day, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

The hybrid plan is popular with customers, according to the department, which said 77% of customers said in a survey that they want appointments to continue. More than 50 services are available online and others can be completed by mail, officials said.

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