2 months for a Texas driver’s license? Why DPS mega centers are so overwhelmed

They started to line up around 3 a.m., illuminated by street lights and cell phones outside the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Fort Worth Mega Center, near the intersection of Eastchase Parkway and Brentwood Stair Road.

Facing 40-degree weather on this October morning, some huddled under blankets while others layered themselves in puffy coats.

A new resident with an expiring out of state license, a lifelong Texan trying to get an ID for travel, and a father trying to get his daughter her first license had waited for hours in a darkened parking lot for a chance to get a coveted same-day appointment.

The alternative? A two-month wait for a scheduled appointment as DPS works through a flood of new residents and a backlog of lapsed licenses related to the pandemic. DPS hopes to solve the problem by moving more services online.

State Sen. Kelly Hancock, a North Richland Hills Republican who serves on the senate Transportation Committee, said in statement that the agency is moving in the right direction and pledged his support toward helping the agency improve in the upcoming legislation session.

“It’s no surprise Texas’ record-breaking job creation and booming economy mean high-growth regions like North Texas have busy Driver License offices,” he wrote.

However, state Rep. Ramon Romero, a Democrat from Fort Worth, argued the problems are a result of priorities rather than resources.

“How many Mega Centers could we have opened up with those billions of dollars we spent on the border?” he asked, referring to Gov. Greg Abbott’s $2 billion border security initiative.

Long waits are nothing new

DPS opened its first Mega Centers in 2012 in an effort to increase capacity and shorten wait times.

However, data obtained by the Star-Telegram in 2019 showed it took an average of 2 1/2 hours to get a license for the first time at the Fort Worth Mega Center and nearly 1 1/2 hours at the Fort Worth South location.

Wait times improved to 19 minutes after appointments became required at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020, but the spots quickly filled up and soon there was a backlog. Making matters worse, officials say, is that 30% skip their appointments and 700,000 took advantage of a COVID waiver and put off their renewals.

Additionally, the state’s rapid growth has strained the centers, which DPS says have historically struggled to keep pace with demand. The state’s four largest metros are expected to grow by 420,000 to 443,000 each year through 2025, according to a 2021 DPS report.

Melinda Young, who moved to Fort Worth from Alabama, needed to get her license ahead of her out of state license expiring in a week.

She said the earliest appointment she could find was January, but a neighbor told her she could try her luck lining up early. So she headed out on Oct. 18.

“He told me if you get there at 5:30 it may be too late,” Young said.

Waits are at least two months at every North Texas mega center, except for Garland (29 days) and Denton (28). It’s 61 days in Fort Worth.

Previous attempts to fix the problem

The Legislature tried to take driver’s license responsibilities away from DPS in 2019.

A bill required the agency to study the pros and cons of having the Department of Motor Vehicles handle driver’s licenses.

The study recommended creating an agency to handle driver’s licenses reasoning it could improve customer service and trust. Another recommendation advocated for more resources to increase online options and add staff to address Texas’ rapidly growing population.

The Legislature has not taken any steps to create a new agency, but added 762 positions in 2021 to help cut down on wait times.

While these new positions helped, it was short of the 962 employees the agency said it needed to keep up with demand.

An agency spokesperson said it plans to ask the Legislature to increase staffing and add offices in fast growing parts of the state.

What people can do for now

Most offices have a limited number of same day appointments, but they fill up quickly.

Baylee Greggains searched for an appointment for an ID card in August, but the earliest spot was in January. With a trip approaching, she showed up at the Fort Worth Mega Center at 4:45 a.m. on a Tuesday.

“We went to three offices yesterday at 8 a.m., and all of them we’re like, no walk-ins,” Greggains said, adding that a DPS employee told her people begin to line up at 3.

After almost three hours in the cold, Greggains was able to get in and get her ID as soon as the office opened.

Appointment availability fluctuates, so it’s a good idea to check the DPS scheduling system frequently in case something opens up, a spokesperson wrote in an email.

DPS Solution

DPS plans to move more services online, so people don’t have to show up in person. Also, drivers may be eligible to renew their license online, and can do so up to two years before it expires.

One proposed change would allow veterans to get their designation added to their license online instead of having to come in and provide paperwork.

Another would allow certified driver education programs to submit road test results online, which would eliminate the need for people with learner’s permits to show up in person to upgrade to a provisional license.

That would help parents like Alan McHugh, who was making his second attempt after long lines the day before prevented him from helping his daughter upgrade her driver’s license.

“We’re up here early in the morning freezing trying to get this thing, and my daughter’s go to get to school,” McHugh said.