Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles — Local services in Yarmouth

I recently moved back to the cape from NJ and had to register two vehicles and transfer my license along with my wife. I waited in line for an hour for the "pre-screening" only to be rushed along. I asked the lady to please make sure I had everything I needed, this is her job. she assured me that everything was in order. By the way I had called ahead of time as well to make sure I brought all the necessary ID. You already know where this is going. after 3 hours of waiting with my wife and five kids they informed me that I did not have 3 forms of identification needed. I told them that the lady screening at the front said it was ok and the man on the phone also told me it was ok, at this point the lady screening started talking across the room to me (loudly), telling me that she never said what she said. I did not argue with her as I saw no point. I asked to speak to a manager and finally heard the words sorry for the first time (4 hours later). I would say that they are not very professional. I would not recommend them, lol. unfortunately there is not much competition.

Update: 9-6-2015 I have to add to my review. My neighbor gave me an old utility trailer. about 5' by 8'. It's 20 years old and needing repairs (nothing special). So I go down to the RMV with the title and my ID. I tried to check online to see if I needed anything in particular. Online I found that trailers under 3000lb did not have to do something but I assumed no matter how small they would want me to register. They do. My first trip I was told that I need the sacred RMV1 form from my insurance company. So I return on the second day and I wait in line again (no small matter) and I am told that I need a sales receipt or a gift form. Mary Lou suggested I get a bill of sale as this would be cheaper than a free gift. I tried to make up a fake bill of sale and get back in the line but she would not buy it. I readily admitted the forgery but I just could not believe the hassle over a free rust bucket. Ok so I come back another day with the gift form, RMV1 form, Title and ID. I wait in line and get lucky to be greeted by Mary Lou at the pre screening! She tells me that the gift form was not good enough because I had to prove that the previous owner owned it. I informed her that the old man died and the wife was the one that signed the gift form.....without hesitation she told me that I needed his death certificate. She allowed me to sit in line but assured me I was wasting my time. I am happy to say she was wrong. a friendly gentleman scratched his head a bit and then gave me a plate. It cost $45 and a whole lot of time. I am not sure if Mary Lou was correct and the gentleman should not have given me the title and plate or if she was just wrong but I am glad it's over. I am fortunate to be self employed and I can afford the time, but I feel bad for all the people struggling to make ends meet and trying to take time off for this nonsense.

Just a little tip for all those planning a trip. I find that if you show up around 4pm-4:20pm you have a much better chance of getting through the line. They definitely pick up the pace at the end of the day and the lines are reasonable. I hate to do that to them but in my experience if you show up at say 10 or 11 plan on killing 2 to 3 hours and there is a good chance you will have to come back with some other...

I wish I could give zero stars, but the review app won't let you post a review without at least one star. My wife and I are moving to Cape Cod from NH, so we went to the South Yarmouth RMV together to get new MA licenses. We arrived at 9:30 where a very courteous woman showed us what forms to fill in, and 15 minutes later they reviewed the forms and our documents, said everything looked good, gave us tickets S3 and S4, and asked us to wait until our tickets numbers were called. So far, so good, but everything went downhill after that. They didn't call my wife's ticket (S3) until 11:30. After she got her temporary license, the clerk went to lunch. At around 12:15 I was still waiting, so I asked the guard if there was a chance I missed hearing S4 being called, and he checked and said they told him S4 was the next "S" ticket that would be serviced. (The guard was great, but he's got the the most unenviable job in the state). Dozens and dozens of "O" and "R" and "Y" tickets were serviced throughout the day for people who came in hours after me while I was kept waiting. Finally, at 1:30, with my back aching after sitting on those awful benches for 4 hours and my stomach empty, they called S5 (not my S4). The guard immediately knew I had been skipped, so he went and checked for me. But now they told him that S4 had been called and missed (which both he and I knew not to be true), and he told me I would have to get a new ticket and go to the end of the line again. I almost never get angry, but I was so mad at that point that I just left before saying something I would regret. The incompetency in this office is epic (except for the guard, I feel so sorry for this guy). I am never going back to the South Yarmouth RMV. I will check all the other RMV's in the state and will go to the one with the best reviews, even if I have to drive across the whole state. For decades I went to the DMV in NH at least once a year for one thing or another and always went through in 1/2 hour or less -- every clerk could handle every job and they took customers in the order they arrived. Welcome to...

I NEED AN APPOINTMENT. I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.

I AM PREVENTED FROM MAKING THE OPPOINTMENT ONLINE.

MAKING THE APPOITNMENT ONLINE IS NOT AN OPTION!

WHEN I CALL I AM CONTINUOUSLY TOLD "TRY AGAIN" AND GET HUNG UP ON. EVERY TIME. EVEN IN LOW PEAK HOURS (ACCORDING TO YOU).

THIS IS A TIME SENSITIVE MATTER.

UNLIKE EVERY OTHER ORGANIZATION IN EXISTANCE, THE RMV HAS NOT YET MASTERED THE NEW FEATURE CALLED "LEAVING A MESSAGE".

AGAIN... I NEED TO CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT BUT I CANNNOT GET THROUGH TO MAKE THE APPOINTMENT.

I AM HUNG UP ON.

WHAT I NEED DONE CANNOT BE DONE ONLINE.

CALLING TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT IS MY ONLY OPTION.

I HAVE NO OTHER OPTION.

I HAVE NO OTHER OPTION.

I HAVE NO OTHER OPTION.

I NEED TO CALL TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.

NO ONE ANSWERS.

EVER.

WHY EVEN POST HOURS OF OPERATION?

HOW CAN ANYONE MAKE AN APPPOINTMENT IF NO ONE THERE WILL EVER ANSWER THE PHONE AND NO ONE CAN LEAVE A MESSAGE WITH YOU?

AND WE ARE HUNG UP ON?

BY PURPOSFUL DESIGN YOU ACTUALLY HANG UP ON THE PEOPLE YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE SERVING!

FEEDBACK????? OK. LET ME BE CLEAR, SINCE DOING OTHERWISE WILL PROMPT NO LESS OF AN IMPACT...

I CANNOT IMAGINE HOW THE RMV SERVICE COULD BE WORSE THAN THIS COMPLETE INCOMPETENCE. YOU ASK FOR PATIENCE WHILE I ASK FOR COMPETENCE. COVID STARTED OVER 6 MONTHS AGO. AND YOU STILL HAVE NOT MASTERED A SIMPLE ANSWERING DEVICE. OR BETTER STAFFING. OR ANYTHING ELSE TO RAISE YOUR LEVEL OF SERVICE ABOVE INCOMPETENCE.

BUT, YOU HAVE COVID TO USE AS AN EXCUSE. OF COURSE.

I NEED AN APPOINTMENT AND CANNOT GET ANYONE TO ANSWER THE PHONE AND I CANNOT MAKE THE APPOINTMENT ONLINE OR LEAVE A MESSAGE WHEN I CALL, WHEREAS INSTEAD I GET HUNG UP ON.

I HAVE NO DOUBT THIS WILL BE COMPLETELY IGNORED.

BOTTOM LINE: YOU'RE INCOMPETENT, AND I'M SCREWED BECAUSE OF...