My license renewal is up and I work remote, so I can go any weekday morning, which feels like my one advantage in life. Culver City, Hollywood, Glendale, I have heard horror stories about all three.
Does anyone have an office that actually moves, and has a walk in ever beaten an appointment for you?
Culver City, first appointment slot. Nothing else.
Appointment every time, and the trick is booking it two or three weeks out for an 8am slot, the first hour is the only calm hour.
Also do the whole thing on the DMV site first, the online renewal and the document upload, so you are only there for the photo. I brought my printed list last time and the clerk actually thanked me.
Culver City with an appointment, that is the only way I do it. I book the earliest slot, bring every document twice over, and I am out before my first meeting. Walking in is how you lose a whole morning of your life for nothing.
Santa Monica office at opening, I was out in twenty five minutes!!
Working remote is exactly the advantage here, so use it on a Tuesday or Wednesday, never a Monday and never the day after a holiday.
I use the Hollywood office on Cole Avenue, and the appointment line and the walk in line are genuinely two different universes. Check the DMV wait time page that morning too, it is more accurate than people expect.
Two things that saved me real time. If you are a AAA member you can do a renewal, a title transfer and registration at a AAA branch instead of the DMV, and the Westside branches are usually a fraction of the wait.
If you do have to go in person, the smaller field offices beat the big ones. I have had better luck at Culver City and even the Torrance office than at Hollywood, which pulls from half the city.
Walk in only works right at open, and by mid morning the appointment holders get called ahead of you anyway. So no, walk in is not a strategy, it is a gamble.
The one in West Hollywood is the best rated DMV office because it’s organized, relatively quick, and less chaotic. I still prefer doing everything online. I didn’t have to go in for my last renewal.
One thing I learned is that you shouldn’t apply more than 3 months prior (expiration date of your drivers license). Otherwise they will ask you for things.
I would suggest to skip Culver City, Hollywood, and Glendale. Those three eat people. If you can drive a bit, Lincoln Park or San Pedro are the ones that actually move. West Hollywood is decent too.
I am at the one in Culver City right now. I think pictures say more than a thousand words. And yes, I made an appointment..
We all have been there. 
Glendale “moves fast” in the same way traffic on the 405 moves fast. Technically there is motion. You asked if anyone has a secret fourth office that isn’t cursed. Not really. Maybe West Hollywood. That one moves for some reason a bit faster.
I am so happy I could renew online. 
What on earth? Lucky you.
This never happened to me.
Okay, thank you. I guess I have to consider WeHo as it’s not that much further away.
I tried the online renewal, but they told me to come in.
I think these three aren’t that much different. Just book the earliest slot available (makes the biggest difference) and calculate traffic.
That’s because these three are among the worst in Los Angeles. WeHo and Lincoln are better.
Avoid Hollywood. Lines are huge! Went once and waited 5 hours. Make an appointment, if not you might need to camp out at 5:30 AM to be 1st in line. Even then you will need luck to get the right person otherwise they just send you home. People are constantly shuffled around to different areas, makes no sense.
The one in West Hollywood is indeed better. I would make that drive and I would get an appointment.
Okay, thanks. 
I will avoid Hollywood and I will try to get an appointment. I don’t want to waste 5-6 hours or camp outside. That’s too much.
