Carolina Journal reports that the NC DMV has announced a five-year plan to fix its problems with customer service. This department falls under the responsibility of Governor Josh Stein.
Question: In the private sector, would it be considered acceptable to require five years to fix such issues?
The old Soviet Union was notorious for developing five-year plans.
The vast majority of “license-plate agencies” (LPAs) — offices handling vehicle registration, titles, plates, and related services — are contracted out. As of recent counts, there are around 129 of these LPA locations under contract.
Historically, most (e.g. 101 out of 118 in a prior survey) were operated by private contractors; a smaller number were operated by local governments.
North Carolina General Assembly
According to a 2024/2025 internal review, many core NCDMV functions — including vehicle titling, registration via LPAs, credential-printing, online payment processing, kiosks, and related back-office tasks — are outsourced to private vendors.
What remains state-run (by the DMV itself)?
Driver-license offices (for issuing/renewing driver’s licenses, IDs, etc.) remain operated directly by NCDMV. The state continues to staff and manage those offices.
The overarching agency (NCDMV, part of North Carolina Department of Transportation — NCDOT) retains oversight, regulation, and responsibility for enforcement and service standards, even where services are outsourced.
What’s changing now — potential for more privatization.
So, you see that a great deal of the contact that the public has with DMV is done by semi-private enterprise.
Five years to ship-shape the functions of DMV is laughable. Maybe Elon Musk could help with a DOGE for NCDMV.
Fred, I think the issues in North Carolina are especially with the drivers license offices run by the state. You are right that the tag/registration/title offices are run by private vendors.