DMV opening 25 field offices on Friday for certain transactions

The Department of Motor Vehicles will open 25 field offices on Friday, May 8, to those with appointments, the agency announced on Thursday.

The stance comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom prepares to ease the stay-at-home order in California.

The affected offices include those in Fontana, Fullerton, Glendale, Los Angeles and Santa Ana.

They were picked based on “location, size, service capacity and the ability to offer enhanced service to commercial driver license customers,” the agency said in a press release.

Others are expected to open in waves.

Employees will have access to masks, gloves and face shields.

The number of customers inside at one time will be limited. Hand-washing stations are planned for DMV parking lots.

“We’re trying to make sure we take the proper steps to be safe,” Gordon said in a video released earlier this week to the Southern California News Group and some other media.

The field offices have been closed since March 27 because of the coronavirus.

While the offices have been closed, 3,400 of the DMV’s 10,000 employees have been working in them to deliver services, including the agency’s virtual-office that, during the pandemic, has expanded what can be done online.

Most DMV chores, 97 percent, now can be done online.

“We are working on that last three percent, but it is a challenging three percent, given how the laws are written,” Gordon said in the video.

Among that minority are the suspended behind-the-wheel tests, blocking new drivers from the roadway. No timetable has been set for when the tests will again be available, although June is under consideration.

The DMV is giving 120-day grace periods to those 70 years or older whose licenses are expiring from March 1 to May 31. Those younger than 70 are able to renew licenses online or by mail.

Further, the federal government won’t require a higher level of ID to board domestic flights now until Oct. 1, 2021, with the deadline pushed back a full year.

So the demand to get the Real ID, a bumped-up driver license or DMV-issued ID that requires an office visit, shouldn’t be strong for a while. (Other ID will work, too, such as a U.S. passport or military ID.)