For residents in the state of Illinois, there’s no shortage of DMV offices and locations in every city, town, and county near you, with over 130 of them located in The Prairie State. Managed by the Illinois Secretary of State, the many DMV offices throughout Illinois are expectedly busy almost all the time, so making an appointment is crucial, even if it’s on the same day!
Whether you’re looking to renew your driver’s license or manage your car’s registration, we’re going to share everything we know about how to make an appointment at the Illinois DMV, as well as how you could contact them, what their operating hours are, and other tips for how to skip the line and make your trip down to the DMV a little bit more painless:
1) Contact Information
- Phone Number: (800) 252-8980
- Address: Use the Illinois Secretary of State’s facility finder here to locate a specific DMV office near you.
Do bear in mind that the phone number mentioned earlier is the main phone line for the ILSOS (Illinois Secretary of State), and it’s mostly reserved for general inquiries. For the specific phone numbers of any one DMV office throughout Illinois, refer to the aforementioned facility finder up above to check out their localized phone lines.
Unfortunately, depending on the specific Illinois DMV office that you’re looking for, you’ll find that they offer limited contact options, mainly handling inquiries over the phone. As such, you won’t find them being active on social media, but some local DMV offices in Illinois might use email to handle inquiries.
Otherwise, most updates and other DMV-related news or information that you’re looking for can be found on the Illinois DMV’s official website.
2) Opening And Closing Hours
- Monday to Friday: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
- Saturday: 7:30 AM to 12:00 PM (this applies to some locations)
- Sunday: Closed (this applies to most locations)
As noted earlier, the specific opening and closing hours for any one DMV office in Illinois could be found in the aforementioned ILSOS facility finder. They’ll list the specific operating hours for each DMV location in the state, including whichever office that’s nearest to you.
If you’re planning to visit any Illinois DMV office, in general, the best times that I’d advise you to drop by are during the mid-mornings and early afternoons on weekdays. These are often their off-peak hours, so you could expect shorter queues and wait times.
On the other hand, I’d highly suggest that you avoid visiting them during lunch hours (around 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM) and late afternoons (around 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM). Normally, these are their busiest hours, so you’ll likely find long queues forming around these hours, in addition to longer wait times.
You should also avoid visiting any Illinois DMV office near the end of the month. This is the time when most people are renewing their vehicle registrations, so you’ll likely also face long queues, too.
3) Services Provided
It’s often a good idea to call the specific Illinois DMV office that you’re planning to visit, far in advance, to make sure that they offer the services you’re looking for. Granted, most of these DMV offices should handle a wide variety of driving, license, and other DMV-related services, including:
- Issuing, renewing, and replacing driver’s licenses.
- Issuing REAL ID-compliant licenses.
- Handling and issuing driver’s permits and commercial driver’s licenses.
- Renewing, transferring, or issuing vehicle registrations.
- Handling title-related services and lien releases.
- Issuing license plates or other specialty plates.
- Issuing and renewing state ID cards.
Once you’re done fulfilling your same-day appointment at your local Illinois DMV office, you’d be able to pay for those services with a variety of payment options, including credit cards and debit cards, as well as cash, checks, and some locations might even take digital payments.
4) Visiting The Illinois DMV
Most DMV offices in the state of Illinois are accessible by major roads, and they generally offer ample parking spaces. The latter also includes easy accessibility for individuals with disabilities, with ramps and easily accessible restrooms.
For more specific directions to any of the many Illinois DMV offices throughout the state, check out that aforementioned ILSOS facility finder to locate their specific addresses. Or, you can just use Google Maps to find the nearest DMV office.
As with any other state though, making an appointment for any Illinois DMV location is highly recommended. This is particularly so for specific services like taking the driver’s test, where an advance schedule and appointment are a must. In the next section, we’ll also discuss a bit more on how you can make a same-day appointment at any Illinois DMV office.
If you somehow can’t make an appointment or if you’re hoping that you’d be able to bypass it, walk-ins are generally accepted at most Illinois DMV locations, and they’re permitted for most services. However, walk-ins are usually accepted on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis, and they’re usually less prioritized than appointments, so you’ll have to accept longer wait times.
5) Making An Appointment At The Illinois DMV
Should you want to make an appointment at any Illinois DMV office, they can be scheduled via the Illinois Secretary of State’s official website’s appointment system. Booking an appointment can help to significantly reduce your wait times, and you can book an appointment up to a few days or up to a week in advance, most of the time.
Another staple of the Illinois DMV is their “Skip The Line” program, where you can book same-day appointments, or sometimes, schedule an appointment less than an hour in advance. The same-day appointment scheduling for Illinois DMV offices opens at 7:00 AM every weekday, and you can also use this 7:00 AM timeframe to schedule on the following day and onwards.
Just make sure to have all your documents and paperwork ready before you visit or fulfill your same-day appointment at the Illinois DMV to ensure a smooth process. As I noted before, you might get away with walk-ins at the Illinois DMV, but you’re likely to face long wait times, not to mention that it’s subject to availability.