The Honolulu Division of Motor Vehicles promises that recent delays in securing new vehicle registrations will be resolved soon.
For months, car dealerships in Honolulu have experienced weeks-long delays in receiving new vehicles’ titles and registration from the city.
The process is supposed to take no more than 10 business days, Harold Nedd, spokesperson for the city Department of Customer Services — which oversees the DMV — told Aloha State Daily. But, in recent months, processing times have ballooned to several times that.
Last month, Nedd said via email, processing rates were about five weeks long. And as of July 1, the DMV had a backlog of about 6,200 pending transactions to be processed, a 40% increase from March.
Nedd said that the delays have been caused by a surge in activity at auto dealers, which has “exceeded the capacity” of DMV staff. However, Nedd emphasized that the issue is not the result of city staffing shortages.
On the other hand, licensed auto dealers are only allowed to schedule one registration appointment with the DMV per location per day, and only make two transactions per appointment.
But, Nedd told ASD that the Department of Customer Services intends to resolve the situation “within the next few weeks,” when, he hopes, the DMV can return to the 10-day processing standard.
“We are actively working toward this goal by redirecting resources within the department to improve the turnaround time; looking at technology to enhance our efficiency; and streamlining procedures to better ensure our effectiveness in the future,” Nedd said. “We have prioritized improving the processing time for commercial motor vehicle registrations to help ensure that lives are not put on hold and auto dealers can continue to fully contribute to our local economy.”
ASD reached out to multiple Honolulu car dealerships for comment.
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