AUSTIN — The Texas Department of Public Safety on Thursday began efforts to address overcrowding at driver's license offices across the state.
To help limit the crowds of people waiting in line to get their licenses, additional DPS personnel -- including state troopers -- were assigned to the highest-volume offices to help identify customers who can immediately get out of line and conduct their transaction online, by phone or by mail. As time progresses, the DPS may start expanding the effort to other offices as needed.
Additionally, the DPS will be hiring 100 positions over the next few months to increase staffing at the busiest offices throughout the state. Due to required background checks, officials say these hires will not begin immediately.
According to the DPS, the majority of customers who come into Texas driver's license office don't even have to. In reality, eligible customers can easily skip the lines by conducting their transactions elsewhere.The DPS estimates that 3.6 million people visited offices in fiscal year 2017.
To find out if you are eligible to skip the line:
- Call 1-866-DL-RENEW (1-886-357-3639). This can be done from any phone; it does not have to be a smart phone. If a customer does not have access to a phone, DPS will offer the use of a phone in the office lobby.
- From a smart phone, a customer can verify eligibility at Texas.gov.
Eligible customers who do not seek to renew by phone or online will be offered a paper form that can be submitted through mail.
The DPS will begin expanding this initiative to the highest-volume offices on Aug. 27, where demands have created significant overcrowding and safety hazards.
The highest-volume offices include:
- Garland Mega Center
- Canton
- Dallas South
- Grand Prairie**
- Terrell
- Rockwall**
- Plano**
- Garland
- McKinney
- Lewisville
- Carrollton
- Sherman
- Gainesville
- Corsicana
- Weatherford
- Tolar
- Stephenville
- Fort Worth South
- Denton**
- Hurst
- Houston South East
- Dacoma**
- Brenham
- Hempstead
- Rosenberg
- Humble
- Cleveland
- Conroe**
- Huntsville
- Beaumont
- Texas City
- Spring Mega Center
- Houston North
- McAllen
- El Paso Scott Simpson
- Midland
- San Antonio General McMullen
- San Antonio South East
- Pat Booker (Universal City)
- San Marcos
- Boerne
- Waco
- Killeen
- Temple**
- Fort Hood
- Austin S
- Austin N
- Austin NW
**Current limited-transaction DL offices
The DPS offers the following tips to help ease convenience for driver's license customers across Texas:
- High-capacity DL Mega Centers are available in major metropolitan areas to better serve customers.
- Many DL offices utilize a queuing system to provide customers with the convenient option of reserving a spot in line through the DPS website before going to the office. For a list of the high-capacity Mega Centers, as well as the specific DL offices that offer the “Get in Line, Online” feature, visit the DPS website.
- In many offices, you can schedule a drive test online three months in advance. Customers are urged to plan ahead and not delay scheduling a drive appointment.
- Another underutilized option available to customers is to renew their DL or ID card early. You can renew up to two years in advance, and renewing early does not impact the expiration date. If an office visit is required, renewing early allows customers to choose a convenient time that best fits their schedule and avoids the busiest times at the DL office.
- Mondays and Fridays tend to be the busiest days, as well as after holidays. Overall, summer is the busiest time of the year. Try to plan your visit around these high-volume times, if possible.
- Before you go to the office, make sure you have all the proper documentation, including documents needed for residency requirements
The DPS on July 9 began implementing a limited-transaction initiative in seven offices where excessive demand forced customers to wait outside in the elements for most of the day. Results of those efforts resulted in an average 44 percent decrease in in-office transactions as well as an increase in online transactions.
For more information about online services offered by the DPS, click here.