NCDMV Driver License Office — Local services in Carrboro

First time writing a review here. Short story: One staff told me that I need a green card to renew my driver's license, which is clearly wrong, and she somehow blamed me for how our entire exchange turned out. I got my learner's permit renewed in the end (yes, I wasn't actually trying to get a driver's license) but not without suffering that staff's condescending attitude.

Long story: Went in with an appointment, still had to wait quite a bit but that's not surprising. What was surprising was that as I took out my documents, the lady at the counter saw my employment authorization card and asked to see it even though it wasn't one of the required documents. I showed it even though it was at that time expired and I was waiting for my new card in the mail. This lady then showed it to the staff at the next counter who started telling me that they can't renew that for me. I obviously did not go to the DMV to renew my work permit which I tried to communicate and I don't even know how the conversation escalated but the next thing I knew, that other "lady" was telling me "YOU NEED A GREEN CARD TO RENEW YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE". Well at that point I was just flustered that we were talking about a green card. I tried to explain that that wasn't true. That my family and I are here in the US temporarily, that we don't intend to get a green card, and I am just there to renew my learner's permit. And anyway if everyone needed citizenship or a green card to drive, then you would have a lot of people on immigrant and non immigrant visas driving illegally. By that time she had come over to my counter, said that I need to prove my legal presence which I said I can do, and started taking out other documents. She found one which she liked and then screamed some more, "WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SHOW US THIS DOCUMENT IN THE FIRST PLACE"? Somehow it became my fault and I was just shocked. I must have said something like I tried but you started asking my about a green card. She would come back with something like "I'M JUST TRYING TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU NEED". And I believe I said something like well I definitely don't need a green card. And she would come back with "WELL YOU JUST DIDN'T HEAR WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR" or something. I did get my learner's permit in the end but only after suffering this lady's condescending attitude. I left the place feeling angry, humiliated, and unnecessarily agitated. I'm sure there are other great staff there, the whole process in the end did not take too long, but that particular staff, with a leopard's skin mask at that time was making false statements, was eager to find fault, and was deeply condescending. I've been to other DMVs and I have no complaints. Every now and then, there's just a rotten egg that can...

TL;DR: No appointment necessary, walk-in accepted all day, no road test before 12 (new rule Sep. 2024 may change), wait time 2-3h on a light day, staffs were friendly and helpful

More details that may be helpful: Arrived on a Tuesday at 6:40AM and there were already about 20 people in line. It grew to about 25 by the office opening at 7AM. People would first check in at the front desk to get a ticket. The front desk was attended by one of the staff in the station, so there may not be anyone giving out tickets at all times. Unlike many other locations, it may not be necessary to bring a folding chair as most people could get a seat inside. There were 21 seats in rows and about 7 chairs on the side. There were also 3 booths for written tests and possibly a bathroom inside. People with appointments got priority, but walk-ins were called as soon as a station became available. There were only 2-3 stations open at first, so the queue moved slowly, but it speeded up when all 6 stations opened by 8AM. All of the staff members presented seemed to be friendly, patient, and helpful. They greeted people when they came in. I also overheard that due to a new rule (Sep. 2024), road tests were not conducted until after 12PM, but people who had appointments could still do so. I saw someone came in and was turned away for that, but the staff kindly offered to keep the spot and asked the person to come back directly to him at 12PM without going through the queue again. I also saw staff members patiently direct people without proper documentation of what to do and still gave them tickets (you need a paper copy of everything, especially insurance). I was called at 8:40AM, which was exactly 2h wait, and I walked out at 9:10AM. It took long for me due to the complexity of my case, but people generally were done at around 20 mins. Overall, it seems the best strategy to avoid waiting as a walk-in is arriving super early, maybe 6:10AM, to be the first 5 in line, so you can walk out at maybe 7:30AM. Otherwise, the wait time is at least 2h in the morning, and this information is not displayed on their website tool. Please give this a thumbs-up if it is helpful to you so that more people can see it (I wish I had some reviews like this to make a more...

The worst DMV experience I have ever had! I felt definitely uncomfortable! However, the lady working at Station 1 is super nice! She helped me with my walk-in permit. There is a case that I got an appointment for my road test, the staff treated me as a walk-in person so I kept waiting for a long time for no reasons. I told her the situation and kept the ticket, she helped me with “appointment” for the second time I came in for the road test. I really appreciated her help! However!! I felt bias with one of another lady with curly hair in DMV. When I failed the driving test for the first time, the lady didn’t show her respect to me at all. When I did the 3 point turns and had no intentions to use the rearview camera, she used the plank to cover it so rudely with very loud sound of the crack seems that I will try to secretly used that camera! I heard the noise and felt uncomfortable with my new car. Secondly, I felt she judged me with bias. I was holding a permit for less than a month but I did drive in another country for a long period of time. When she first came to me and she said to me that”you held your permit for less than a month”, that pre-assume that I was not a good driver. After failing the first time, she extended the waiting days for retaking the test for me manually from 7 days to 14 days! And she said they have the right to decide, and I only held the permit for less than a month, so she gave me such a decision. I explained to her that I had driven in another country, may I have a try? She said: it’s different to drive in India. I felt so confused and that’s so ridiculous. I’m not from India and she assumed that and said something very confusing. During the whole time when I talked with her. She didn’t let any chance for me to explain but keep interrupting me! So rude! And even I didn’t finish and pack up all my stuff, she called the other person to come to her desk. I didn’t feel comfortable for the experience and I felt I was bias! The worst experience ever...