DMV appointments filling up fast upon reopening

Those hoping to make appointments for certain in-person services now that the Department of Motor Vehicles has partially reopened may still find themselves waiting in line — online — for an appointment before they can wait in line at their appointment.

The DMV, which partially-reopened Tuesday, is working through a backlog of appointments.

That means anyone hoping to make a new appointment might find limited availability for certain services for a few weeks. For example, appointments for out-of-state transfer of license and registration — a service currently only offered at DMV offices in Bridgeport, Enfield and Waterbury — appear to be completely booked for the next 60 days.

Other services like new licenses or identification cards, new registrations, Commercial Drivers License upgrades, and license renewal are available by appointment at the facilities where they are offered, but not all services are offered at every branch.

Road tests for learners permits could not be taken until this week, though knowledge tests have been available for weeks via appointment only at the DMV offices in Cheshire, Danbury, Norwalk, Old Saybrook, Wethersfield and Willimantic. Road tests are typically booked further in advance, so many were canceled during the closures.

Those with standing road test appointments scheduled for July 4 or later were allowed to keep them, and the department is now prioritizing people who were asked to cancel in the past three months as they schedule new appointments, Commissioner Sibongile Magubane said Tuesday.

“This has really caused a lot of challenges,” Magubane said. “They book ahead. We were trying to be customer-centric. So we were canceling two weeks forward. So anyone with an appointment after July 4 will keep them. Starting last Friday we started calling the people who had their appointments canceled so we could reschedule.”

Deputy DMV Commissioner Tony Guerrera said Tuesday that more than 1,000 road tests for teens hoping to acquire their license for the first time have already been scheduled.

Ned Gerard / Hearst Connecticut Media A security guard checks motorists in as they arrive for appointments at the state Department of Motor Vehicles office in Bridgeport on Tuesday.