“what to do about the DMV?”

“Dear PoPville,

I recently bought a new used car and I’d like to get it plated and registered in DC. This requires a trip to the DMV from what I can tell and during COVID, you must make an appointment. The problem is, the appointment scheduler website never shows any appointments available. And yes, I’ve heard of the “trick” that at 3pm on Tuesdays they open up a bunch of slots. I have logged in every Tuesday at 3pm for the last 6 weeks and no dice.

So my question for the community is: has anyone successfully snagged an appointment at the DMV and if so, how?

My related question for the motor vehicle gods is: what on earth is the DMV going to be like post-covid with a backlog of tens of thousands needing these services? It seems like most folks are just deferring anything automotive related until after covid and the Mayor’s order allows this, but once all this is over, the backlog is going to be insurmountable.”

Folks are also asking us @PoPville “hey ! any chatter about the @dcdmv and how difficult it is to get an appointment right now? I know their whole thing with 3pm tuesday apt spots dropping but it has still proven impossible despite trying my hardest at 3pm on tuesday! this seems like a bad system”

and

“Has anyone purchased a new car in the #dmv area and been able to get a registration in DC when the DMV has no appointments whatsoever? We have a temporary Virginia registration, but Virginia does not appear to be providing any extensions. Help!”

One reply that’s worked for some but obviously not all: “I just went through this process and successfully registered my car. Get on the DMV appointment page at Tues 3pm. Had success with adjudication services location. Try different browsers. Be patient as the site loads. For some reason, at 3:15, a bunch of slots opened up for me.”