RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Transportation named Paul Tine as the next commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The announcement was made April 30, and Tine started Tuesday.
“I am very excited to begin work as the next Commissioner of North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles,” said Tine in a press release. “There is no shortage of challenges facing our division, and it is critical that we get to work quickly to reduce wait times, make our website more user friendly, and empower our frontline staff to ensure the highest level of service to our citizens.”
Tine is a former state lawmaker, serving in the House from 2013 to 2016. He had been a Democrat when elected, but in 2015, he changed his affiliation to independent.
Time replaces outgoing N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles (NCDMV) Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, who said that he would not seek to keep his job during a legislative oversight committee hearing earlier this year.
Goodwin had assured lawmakers the agency was making headway in reducing long wait times and increasing customer service, but it would appear Tine has his work cut out for him.
“Two trips, two days off, and still no license renewal,” one North Carolina citizen described visits to Siler City’s N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles office in a viral Facebook post.
The post, since deleted, generated scores of comments that relayed similar experiences with long lines and lengthy wait times for license renewals and other services at NCDMV offices around the state.
To assist with wait times, the NCDMV has rolled out the “Q-Anywhere“ project, which lets customers check in by scanning a QR code with their phone and using text messages to hold a place in line while waiting in their car or at a nearby location. Customers get a text message telling them when to return to the lobby. For those without a phone, the NCDMV says it’s working on a paging system like those used in some restaurants.
Backlogs in license renewals have led to lawmakers stepping in, and a House bill currently making its way through committees would extend the expiration date for Class C driver’s licenses for up to two years, with the extension ending on Dec. 31, 2027.
The bill explicitly cites the “backlog of drivers unable to renew their driver’s licenses in person” as the main reason for the bill. The extension would not apply to currently canceled, revoked or suspended licenses, nor to Real ID-compliant licenses that have been valid for eight years or more.
A provision in the Senate’s budget proposal would create a “Board of Motor Vehicles” made up of nine voting members who would appoint the commissioner as well as oversee their work and agency overall.
In addition to legislation, Tine will have to contend with the results of an audit. N.C. State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office told North State Journal the NCDMV audit is “ongoing,” and 14 people are working on it, which is more than the typical audit.
Boliek’s office described the audit as a “floor-to-ceiling” review that goes beyond just a financial look and will have an eye on examining the agency’s efficiency, including evaluating the personnel side of the house to some extent.
Last July, Rep. Erin Paré (R-Wake) visited the NCDMV office in Fuquay-Varina, which is located in southern Wake County. She described long lines, not enough staff and said operations were “completely unacceptable.”
As of Jan. 6, the Fuquay-Varina office transitioned from full service, including walk-ins, to by appointment only as part of a pilot program.
North State Journal visited the Fuquay-Varina office last year and found a line of at least 40 people stretching down the sidewalk and a full waiting area with standing room only.
A return visit last week found no line outside and a few people waiting to check in for their appointment inside. There were also just under a dozen individuals seated in chairs waiting to be seen. Most of those waiting for service said they had been waiting for 15 to 20 minutes.
One woman, who wished not to be named, said she hadn’t been waiting long but thought it was “ridiculous” that one can only renew their license online a single time. She also said she made her appointment in January after “weeks of sitting on the website” trying to find an opening within 50 miles of her home.
Staff said they could not comment to the media and directed North State Journal to the NCDOT communications department for inquiries about the site and the pilot program.
The NCDMV communications contact at the NCDOT shared data comparing the first 16 weeks of 2023 and 2024 to the same time frame in 2025 for the appointment only at the Fuquay-Varina location. The data showed an increase in driver’s license issuance under the appointment-only pilot for 15 out of the 16 weeks. In some weeks, the issuance rates were nearly doubled.
More staff added to the location appears to be the driver for the increased productivity, based on data provided to North State Journal.
