Government

North Carolina DMV expands kiosk deployment

Photo: Jakub Rutkiewicz - stock.adobe.com

February 24, 2026

Summarize with

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is expanding its use of self-service kiosks to reduce wait times for routine transactions such as license renewals and vehicle registration, according to a News & Observer report. Ten new kiosks are being added across Wake, Mecklenburg and Cumberland counties, increasing the statewide total to 18. The department plans to add two more by spring, bringing the total to 20.

The kiosks are typically placed in locations such as grocery stores and DMV offices, allowing residents to complete certain services without needing to visit a DMV office. Officials say the kiosk expansion is part of a broader effort to improve efficiency and shorten wait times, cutting them from an average of about 40 minutes to under 3 minutes.

The kiosks handle many common transactions that can also be completed online but offer the added benefit of printing documents immediately. Services include renewing driver licenses or state IDs, ordering duplicates, updating addresses, registering to vote, renewing vehicle registrations, printing license plate stickers and registration cards and paying property taxes on new vehicles.

Government