Maybe Dan Grabauskas should go back to the RMV?
By most accounts, he did as good a job at the Registry as he isn't doing at the T. Josh Ourisman reports on how things have fallen apart since Grabauskas left the RMV:
... We got there pretty early, maybe 10 am, so there weren't that many people in front of us. We waited for about an hour until there were only two people ahead of us in line. Finally we were going to be finished with the damned RMV and have all that needless, inefficient bureaucracy behind us! Then, mere minutes before Jessi's number was to be called, and mine right after, an RMV employee appeared in a flash of smoke and brimstone to inform us that 'Social Security [was] down' and so they couldn't process any new licenses or license conversions. ...
And this was their second failed attempt to transfer their out-of-state licenses to Massachusetts ones.
Comments
Pointless, pedantic correction
Jessi has an Illinois license, not a Calfornia one. ;)
Fixed
Thanks.
This is why I've lived here
This is why I've lived here for nearly seven years and haven't switched over. I figure I'll wait until 2009 when my RI license is about to expire to start dealing with Massachusetts' motor vehicle department. I can buy booze and drive-- I'm good for now.
Much better than it used to be
MA is much better than 20 years ago when you had to stand in cattle lines for hours just to find out you didn't have the right paperwork. You had no other option as they never answered the phone and you couldn't find out any other way what you needed to have, bring, fill out, etc. No person at the back of the line to ask, either.
Funny thing is, a coworker was just telling me what a pain it was for her son to switch his license from MA to IL. Seems they wanted an actual paper social security card???? Yikes.
If you want to know the wait, go to massrmv.com. Then you can keep tabs on how long it takes according to their estimates and pick the registry that has the shortest lines.
As for a MA license, I've long wondered if all you had to do to get one is buy the right crackerjack box.
It took me three tries to
It took me three tries to convert my license from IA to MA, but a fair amount of that was IA's fault.
I thought everyone had to have a paper SS card. Not that you usually want to carry it with you, granted; I found that out the hard way when my wallet was stolen once.
Registry experience
I recently changed my license from MD to MA. I had heard all these horror stories and had delayed converting my license until that last possible moment. Before going, I visited the Registry's web site which clearly told me what paperwork I needed and could use for identification purposes. When I went to the Registry office in Chinatown, the office was quite crowded, standing room only, but things were moving along. I had to wait a bit to see the person at the window, maybe 30 minutes on a Friday afternoon. And then I had to wait about the same to take the computerized written exam. The computer system crashed as I was taking the test, but the staff handled it politely and professionally and got me on my way. All in all, it seemed like a well-run operation and the staff was working to get everyone through.
I wonder if Chinatown is so crowded ...
Because the Roslindale Registry is closed while the building it's in is renovated. I know I'm going to have to get down to Chinatown soon to turn in the plates from our old car.
But when??
Oh Adam, when when when will the Rozzie Reg be back?
Points well taken, yet
it 's still pretty tough to get in contact with them over the phone. It makes sense to find out about the
waiting time first.
You can find out waiting
You can find out waiting times over the internet, which is most handy.
Registry worked pretty well for me this month
I got a letter from the Registry a few weeks ago, saying that my name and Social Security Number did not match, and that I needed to correct this problem before I could renew my driver's license. I did not recognize the SSN on this letter at all. My guess is that when I got my first license in 1985 or so, I didn't give the Registry a Social Security Number so they made one up for me on the spot.
I showed up at the Chinatown RMV last Tuesday with this letter and my Social Security Card. The greeter gave ma a renewal application to fill out, and directed me upstairs where I took a number and waited about an hour. The clerk looked at the letter and my Social Security Card, took my photo and a check for $40, and sent me on my way with a temporary paper license. The permanent one arrived in my mailbox a week later. (I got to keep my current unexpired license, so technically I now have three of them for the next few weeks.)
Seemed like a pretty well-run operation to me. I hope it's still as good five years from now, when I next expect to interact with them.
Same SSN issue!
I had to correct that before renewal in 1997. Fortunately, I had a replacement card made when I sent in for my son's initial card when he was born, so I had it handy.
I never had mine linked because Oregon being Oregon, they actually followed the "SSN not for identification purposes" law, where MA didn't want you to know it wasn't required but had to give you a different one if you asked (this I knew from my husband).
I still don't have an SSN on my DL - but it is linked in file.
As for my coworker, her son DID have his SSN on his valid MA license and IL still wanted the paper card, too, as if the paper card was more valid a piece of evidence than a recent photo ID with a number linked to a federal database. That is stoopid!
SSN no longer on licenses
According to the Registry, they no longer use Social Security Numbers on driver's licenses. If your current license number is your SSN, they will change it the next time you renew. They say it's a federal law that SSNs no longer be printed on driver's licenses.
In and out of Chinatown in 10 minutes today
But all I was doing was turning in old plates. Still, that was at noon (12:03 to be exact).