DMV outlines modernization progress, kiosks, and several bill proposals to committee

The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles told the Senate Committee on Growth and Infrastructure on March 1, 2025, that it has made “tremendous” progress modernizing customer services, reduced vacancies after recent pay raises and will pursue several bill changes this session while continuing a multi‑year transformation to move more services online.

For the record, Angela Smith Lamb, Deputy Director of the DMV, said the agency “remains focused on our vision and mission to move most services online while maintaining emphasis on premier customer service in a secure environment.” She said the DMV has 1,292 authorized positions and reported a current vacancy rate of about 5 percent, following recruitment after last session’s salary increases.

What the DMV described - Modernization and service counts: Sean Seever, deputy administrator for research and project management, said DMV completes roughly 8,000,000 transactions annually (about 28,000 business‑day transactions). The department has rolled out online complaint submissions, electronic document uploads for out‑of‑state and first‑time registrations, a modernized appointment system and improved contact‑center handling. - Staffing and offices: Smith Lamb said DMV operates 18 field offices statewide, including two focused on commercial services, and partners with county assessors and more than 50 partner kiosks and third‑party registration services. - Kiosk program and partner rules: The DMV said partner kiosks are placed by a vendor that assesses footprint and profitability; kiosks typically require about 1,000 transactions a month for the vendor to maintain placement. The agency said some kiosks have had unauthorized stickers placed on them by third parties; Angela Smith Lamb said that sticker placement was not done by the DMV and that the department will investigate specific instances.

Pending legislation and budget items - Bills mentioned (no votes were taken during the presentation): - SB 22 (motor carrier bill): proposed amendment to clarify due dates for fuel tax returns (set to end of month). - SB 80 (Compliance Enforcement Division): clarifies existing statutes and activities addressing stolen vehicles, unlicensed motor vehicle industry involvement, and system tampering. - AB 20: housekeeping bill to allow DMV greater mailing flexibility (including electronic notifications) and to clarify printing of medical condition codes and a medical symbol on driver credentials. - BDR (budget BDR): proposed increase in fee for diesel and gasoline emission certificates from $6 to $7 to cover pollution control budget needs as gasoline/diesel registrations decline. - Implementation notes: Sean Seever said DMV implemented all but one and a half bills from last session; AB 161 (medical indicator on driver’s license) is on the license but not yet on registrations; AB 203 (personalized military plates) is expected to be completed in April.

Third‑party registration services: The DMV said it has moved third‑party registration vendors into an appointment system; companies may hold two appointments at a time and the department grandfathered longstanding registration services to preserve some appointment access. The DMV said it held a town hall with registration service companies to address operational issues.

Kiosks and public complaints: A public commenter, Miranda Hoover of the Registered Services Association of Nevada, told the committee she had photos showing kiosk stickers at locations including Las Vegas and Henderson that the association considered problematic; the DMV said it would follow up and that a sticker on some kiosks had been placed by grocery stores charging a fee for kiosk use.

Funding and caps: Smith Lamb said the DMV is primarily funded by highway funds and fees; the agency is subject to a cap on highway fund appropriations for operations (27% currently to support transformation work, scheduled to return to 22% in FY 2026). She said DMV collected approximately $1.8 billion in FY 2024 and that about 46.58 percent of operations funding comes from highway funds with the remainder from fees and commissions.

Senators asked about kiosk expansion, the Real ID deadline, vacancy rates and whether DMV has considered multi‑year registration options; the DMV said it will follow up with specific counts (such as number of Nevadans who still need a Real ID) and noted a three‑year registration option exists for trailers but not passenger vehicles.