Department of Public Safety

I went here expecting the worse but I was in and out in 15 minutes around noon in early May. Staff was very nice and helpful in helping me renew my driver’s license and change of address. Everyone is friendly and laid back.

The «Welcome» booth staff is hardly ever welcoming! LOL.
Oh, and their is usually someone who tells you to keep your voices down while testing is going on, but someone should be in the waiting area having people take their loud, whining, and unruly kids outside. It’s stressful enough having to wait or test, without having the added day care atmosphere going on! Sheesh!
Yep, I said it!

Total zoo, total zoo… I spend three hours there and two and half waiting. Well, just like everyone expects when they go to the DMV.
I actually went last week in the morning around 11 and it was relatively calm but sadly I didn’t bring my documents (I am not usually this unorganized at all but I guess the stress of moving just really got me). So this is my advice, if you have to go, then go in the morning around that time. Afternoon was a big mistake.
Also, there were some black sheep in the crowd. I got tired of sitting for two hours and got up when it was almost my turn. A teenage looking guy came up on me and said his friend had been checking me out the whole time (just what exactly you want to hear, right…). He asked about my age and marriage status. I told him the truth (which some people found it hard to believe) and asked him to go away but he wouldn’t. A girl next helped me out and told him to go away (not that I couldn’t do it myself).
The overall experience was just unpleasant but fortunately the staff there were friendly enough. It’s not their fault that the DMV offices are always packed and people constantly complaining about waiting. If anything I truly feel sorry for them for having to work there.

Getting a drivers’ license renewed in Houston is a nightmare. There aren’t enough locations to do it, and the existing ones tend to be in neighborhoods one is afraid to spend too much time in. It requires four or five hours, minimum, to get this necessary piece of business taken care of. Citizens are herded in like cattle, treated rudely by employees that barely speak English and prefer yelling to speaking, and subject to being sent back to the beginning of the line at any time due to an employee’s carelessness. Here’s a tip — you do NOT have to renew your drivers’ license in the city you live in. You can go to any DPS/​DMV office in the state of Texas. Small town offices are less crowded… and while it takes time to drive there, you’ll skip the Houston office headaches.

I hate DPS. I even hate their name. Why don’t we have DMV, not DPS. Anyways, I’m a law-​abiding citizen, sure my foot is lead-​based when I’m late or in a hurry, so I get the occasional speeding ticket. But that’s no reason to be treated like a common felon.
As a perverted birthday gift, DPS sends me a letter informing that they won’t be renewing my license this year because I have an outstanding ticket somewhere in the state of Texas. Oh well that’s great! And SOOO helpful!
So, again as some sort of ironic joke, they give me a 1 – 800 number to call to get information. It’s an automated system, so all I need is my license number. Right? WRONG! Apparently, I also need hours and days out of my life to actually get the damn thing to answer. Within the last 30 tries, it’s been busy 28 times, and hung up on me twice! Twice!
Why doesn’t the state join the rest of the civilized world and get an online response system so more than one person at a time can check their future potential of being arrested!
Did I mention that I hate DPS?
UPDATE– Finally got through on the 1 – 800 number (calling at 4am works!!), called the county and figured out that it was a ticket from a year and half ago that was already paid. So hopefully they’ll remove it from my account! Let’s keep our fingers crossed…