NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — Niagara County officials say future walk-in hours for the DMV will be limited to Niagara County residents only.
Niagara County Clerk Joseph A. Jastrzemski says the DMV tried to open walk-ins to everyone, but the number of people coming from other communities was overwhelming, creating long lines and long wait times.
“We attempted to bring a sense of normalcy back to our operations by doing one day of walk-ins at each of our three DMV offices and to be candid, it didn’t go particularly well,” Jastrzemski said. “The number of people coming from communities that are two and three hours away to process multiple transactions is something we did not anticipate. It created a long lines and long wait times.”
In addition to limiting walk-in appointments to Niagara County residents, Jastrzemski says those customers are also limited to two transactions per visit. Anyone who is not a Niagara County resident will be turned away during walk-in hours.
“We still think booking appointments, using our drop boxes and doing transactions online are the best way to complete your DMV business, but we wanted to create the more traditional avenue with walk-in hours for those who are more comfortable with that or maybe needed extra direction,” Jastrzemski said. “But with the vast majority of other counties in New York State only doing appointments, we appeared to become the clearinghouse for people all across Upstate New York. That can’t continue.”
Jastrzemski says if this new policy does not improve long lines and wait times, then the Niagara County DMV will return to appointments only.
Currently the North Tonawanda DMV office is accepting walk-ins on Tuesdays, while the Niagara Falls DMV is accepting walk-ins on Wednesdays. The Lockport DMV is accepting walk-ins on Thursdays. On walk-in days, Niagara County residents must be in line by 11:30 a.m. to be assisted before the office closes for lunch. Residents must also arrive before 4 p.m. to be assisted before the DMV closes.
Everyone in attendance must wear a mask and bring their own pen.
