North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is praising efforts by the state Division of Motor Vehicles to fill 64 positions at offices around the state — part of an ongoing effort to speed service at the division, which has struggled to recruit and retain employees. 

State lawmakers approved $1.2 million in funding for the division last month. The goal of the funding was to hire more license examiner positions. Lawmakers approved additional funding for several new DMV offices in fast-growing parts of the state, including the Wake County town of Fuquay-Varina.

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Stein says the positions were filled in less than a month — a considerable feat, considering the state has had difficulty filling jobs across agencies as it competes for talent with the private sector. About 20% of the state’s positions are vacant, according to Stein.

“We have a lot of work to do to fix the DMV,” Stein said Sunday in a post on the social media platform X. “I am proud of the team for taking just one month to fill every single one of this year’s examiner positions funded by the mini-budget I signed ... and I appreciate the legislature’s appropriation. Now it’s time to get those new employees to work.”

During a transportation summit in Raleigh last week, Stein urged the General Assembly to pass a budget that includes raises for all state employees, including NCDOT workers.

NC DMV Commissioner Paul Tine said at the summit that Stein had urged him to make the hires in 30 days, a goal his division accomplished. “That’s unheard of in government,” Tine said. “It’s difficult to do that.” 

He said the division worked with state human resources and commerce officials to ramp up the hiring effort, holding job fairs across the state and interviewing people immediately after the new finding was approved in August. 

“We have moved mountains [to hire new workers] and are pleased with that,” Tine said at the conference, which included a career fair. “When the legislature gives us resources, we’ll put them to work fast and in a way we can measure results of that investment to us.”

A recent state audit found that staffing shortages and an overwhelmed workforce were major contributors to long lines at DMV offices across the state — particularly as the division deals with a crush of newcomers and existing residents needing services, including upgraded IDs to meet new federal standards.

The audit found that additional driver’s license examiners were needed to meet demand and reduce wait times at DMV offices. State Auditor Dave Boliek said more flexibility is needed in current personnel rules to allow the DMV to hire and retain staff more effectively.

Tine, who took leadership of the DMV in May, says recent technology upgrades have reduced hundreds of thousands of potential physical interactions at DMV locations. He also said legislative changes that ease the ID renewal process have also helped ease the workload on the division. 

Tine said that until recently, the DMV didn’t know exactly how long people were waiting, which was about 2 hours and 45 minutes on average.

He said that was "not anywhere near where we need to be."

Tine has asked frustrated residents to voice their concerns and ideas at ncdmv.gov by clicking on “help.”