New York Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV/RMV) Customer Service

While there are multiple directory lines, reaching a live representative at the New York Department of Vehicles is not too difficult. It does require working through quite a few directory maps but will result in talking to a real agent.

Callers are greeted with a cordial recording that thanks them for calling and then asks them to press one to continue in English or press two to continue to Spanish. After choosing English, the recorded message reminds callers that to make their call go quicker and to assist better, please have a license number or plate number easily available for the agent. 

Then, the message reminds callers that they can go online and see all the options such as changing their address. While some of these online options could probably be useful, I had a question that I needed to ask an actual customer service agent, so I stayed on the line and kept waiting. 

It then asks people to stay on the line for a list of options and starts the directory listing. Callers are told to press 1 to make an appointment at the DMV, press 2 for license and suspension questions, press 3 for registration and title, or press 4 for information about changing an address. 

I needed to talk about my license, which didn't come in the mail yet, so I pressed 1 to talk to someone. It had been over 30 days, and my current license was certainly expired so I needed to talk to someone about what to do in this situation. I am traveling soon and don't have too much time to wait for a replacement. 

After pressing 1, I was taken to a new directory with its own list of options. I had to listen to it for more options and chose to press 1 for more information. 

This took me to another recording that told me to press 1 to apply or replace a license or press 2 if you didn't receive a license in the mail. I pressed 1 and then was sent to a waiting queue until a customer representative was available. When they answered, they were able to look up my information and track my license, which had been caught in the shipping queue but was out for delivery in the next few days. 

Overall, listening to multiple directories was a bit of a pain, but the directories were logical enough, and I was able to get to someone who could help me within a short period of time. I also appreciated that the wait time was short.