Turns out you're not waiting in line that long after all.
The average waiting time for Georgia customers in October was ten minutes and twenty-two seconds, with over 90% of customers served within 30 minutes or less, according to the Department of Driver Services.
The DDS also claimed that the statewide average waiting time at licensing centers four years ago was eighteen minutes.
However, another report says the statewide average wait time for renewals was one hour and 48 minutes.
The average wait time was even longer at busier offices in the north Metro area, like Norcross and Lawrenceville, which had average waits of around four hours.
A new law rolled out in June 2012 requires drivers to bring:
- an original or certified birth certificate, passport or other primary identification
- proof of Social Security number (a Social Security card, W-2 form or federal tax return)
- two documents proving where they live
Before the new law, these forms of identification were required only applying for a new driver's license or ID card. Now the forms are also required for renewals which must be done in person, not online.
The agency attributes the decline in waiting time to new technology and team training, not to more licensing centers.
Earlier this year in Cobb County, the DDS opened a new location in Kennesaw but closed the Canton Road location in Marietta.
There are 66 driver licensing centers statewide, with nine in Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, north Fulton and the city of Atlanta combined.
