BEND, Ore. – Just about any Central Oregonian who drives and/or owns a vehicle knows the longstanding drill about the in-person aspect of Oregon DMV offices – the take-a-number, take-a-seat and wait way to get things done that you can’t or don’t want to tackle online, such as driving tests.

But in recent years, there’s also been a fairly steady stream of frequent one-day closures of smaller DMV offices, on the High Desert and elsewhere around the state, due to continued staffing issues – an on-the-ground, locked-door symbol of the Oregon Department of Transportation’s ongoing budget woes.

Barely a week or two goes by without local media outlets getting a brief morning advisory about how a DMV office will be closed that day “due to staffing,” the most recent last Monday in Redmond. The agency also points out that “you may be able to complete your service online at http://DMV2U.oregon.gov, which offers over 30 transactions 24 hours a day.”

But until, for example, AI-brained robots can give in-person driving tests, the face-to-face contact is still a necessity, at times.

It’s about dollars, of course. Asked for the specifics, DMV Public Information Officer Chris Crabb shared with the Bugle that "the demands on Oregon DMV have grown considerably over the past 25 years, in both volume and complexity, yet staffing has remained largely unchanged.”

Since 2000, she said, “Oregon’s population has increased by around 850,000, or nearly 25% - yet DMV has roughly the same number of employees as it did 25 years ago, Even with all authorized positions filled, that gap affects the level of service DMV can provide across the state.”

Not that they’re not trying new things, with additions such as the Oregon DMV Express Kiosks that were placed in 10 Fred Meyer stores, including Bend’s, in December of 2024.

It’s a way to quickly renew or replace a vehicle registration, without the long lines. You can also renew a driver’s license or vehicle registration online, or update your address – even file a collision report, report a vehicle sale and schedule a driving test.

“Every person who completes a transaction online frees up appointment times for other customers who must come into an office, like for a REAL ID,” Crabb said. (By the way, in case you were wondering, Oregon’s DMV is not using artificial intelligence to further automate customer service “at this point,” she added.

As for staffing, the Bend DMV office currently has 13 full-time workers, Redmond has six, Prineville has three and Madras has two.

The La Pine office has no permanent staff, so two Bend workers head south to staff it on Thursdays, the only day it’s open. That means Bend is short-staffed that day. So the Bend DMV office currently is open for appointments only on Thursday, though one can often show up and snag an open, scheduled slot for later in the day.

Since the start of this year, the Madras DMV office has had a dozen full-day closures and a partial one as well. Prineville has seen 11 full-day closures and one partial, the Redmond office has been closed four days and La Pine two. Again, Bend is not on the list of office closures, as are larger-city offices around the state.

Last year, the Prineville DMV office was closed for 12 days due to staffing issues, the most in the region. Madras had 11, Redmond had two and La Pine didn't open on just one Thursday. Those stats are similar to 2024, when Madras led the list with nine closure days, Prineville with seven, Redmond with five and La Pine had one.

Managers in just about any business know how good and bad news mix, day by day. Crabb noted that DMV has hired for seven Central Oregon positions so far this year – but also has had four people leave.

“This is indicative of why closures continue,” she said. “We hire, and then people retire, get a different job, promote to something inside ODOT or separate for another reason. It’s two steps forward, one step back.”

The DMV staffing levels are just one piece of the ODOT funding puzzle state lawmakers will get to address once again in the new year.