State Auditor Dave Boliek has released an audit of the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), fulfilling a campaign promise. The audit points to ongoing issues with management under Democratic leadership, specifically referencing former Governor Roy Cooper.
According to the findings, the DMV has experienced increased customer dissatisfaction and declining service quality. There have also been higher rates of employee burnout and turnover, along with delays or failures in modernization projects. The report warns that if these inefficiencies are not addressed, there could be negative impacts on workforce participation, business operations, and overall economic productivity in North Carolina.
The audit notes that both the DMV and the Department of Information Technology – Transportation (DIT-T) have not fully implemented recommendations from a legislative study conducted in April 2024. These recommendations included completing a comprehensive plan for modernizing DMV application systems, prioritizing improvements to IT infrastructure for better customer experience, starting necessary data cleansing procedures for successful IT upgrades, and developing a thorough personnel management plan.
One significant issue highlighted is the length of customer visits at DMV offices. In fiscal year 2025, 13.8% of visits lasted more than 2.5 hours—up from 7.7% in fiscal year 2019—representing a nearly 79% increase statewide. This problem is most pronounced in both rural and urban areas.
The audit also found that outside of its role within the broader Department of Transportation Strategic Plan, the DMV has not developed its own current strategic plan since 2019. That year’s plan was created following performance audit recommendations from May 2018 and involved consultation with the UNC School of Government.
“Auditor Boliek and his team are revealing mismanagement of this agency under the tenure of Roy Cooper,” said NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons. “We greatly appreciate Auditor Boliek’s effort to deliver on a campaign promise to clean up state government. As for Cooper, once again we see he was more concerned with the needs of left-wing special interests than the people of North Carolina.”
