Dmv -wow! (Portland, Lake Oswego, Cedar Hills: home, live, drivers license)

[sayulita]

I haven't been to the DMV in years and was dreading having to go in and renew my license today. I went prepared for a long wait, especially since lines are longer at the beginning and end of the month. Well glory be - I drove from Hillsdale to the DMV office in Cedar Hills (about 7.5 miles away), renewed the license and drove home - ALL IN UNDER AN HOUR! There were very few people there and plenty of staff.
Now what will I do with the rest of the day?

[Deezus]

Originally Posted by sayulita

I haven't been to the DMV in years and was dreading having to go in and renew my license today. I went prepared for a long wait, especially since lines are longer at the beginning and end of the month. Well glory be - I drove from Hillsdale to the DMV office in Cedar Hills (about 7.5 miles away), renewed the license and drove home - ALL IN UNDER AN HOUR! There were very few people there and plenty of staff.
Now what will I do with the rest of the day?

Instead of going to the DMV in Portland where I live, I'll drive to the Lake Oswego DMV...Usually no wait at all when I've been there. Just don't go to the Lloyd Center DMV on a Saturday---2-3 hours lines.

[sayulita]

Even though the downtown DMV is much closer to me, parking is a hassle and it's always very busy. Going to the offices in the suburbs must be the answer. Who knew??

[davefr]

There are a couple factors. DMV no longer hands out drivers licenses to illegal aliens like handing out candy. The other factor is they're embracing internet transactions for routine things.

Those factors have helped.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Here's some tips for people on the EAST side. Due to having a car crazy teen age son and his friends around swapping cars all the time, knowing the following has saved me a ton of time.
Absolutely stay away from the the DMV on Powell by Eastport Plaza unless you are doing a driving test or have some heavy duty DMV business.
That office is always crowded with long waits.
Due to their business volume, the staff is polite and very "efficient" with you, but not unfriendly.
It's a take number place, so don't zone out and miss it when they call your number!

If you have to do the normal things like title, register or renew, go to the Oregon DMV website, find your applicable, fillable PDF DMV form, type in the required fields, and print it.
Take it and cash or check, and go to one of their sattelite offices.
You will be in and out in half an hour or under.

Oregon DMV has a great website and you can find anything you need and have most questions answered there.
You can also call DMV, and instead of just a recording, you can actually talk to somebody that can help you.

[tigerlily]

There is not a long wait at the Tansabourne office either both times I've visited. They closed the one on Allen Boulevard when they opened Tanasbourne. The one on Allen was a nightmare.

[figmalt]

Originally Posted by tigerlily

There is not a long wait at the Tansabourne office either both times I've visited. They closed the one on Allen Boulevard when they opened Tanasbourne. The one on Allen was a nightmare.

This is where I usually go too. Wait times have never been bad, but like most DMVs, the customer service has been hit and miss.