An older Department of Motor Vehicles Office in Lompoc will shut its doors for good, with all services continuing at a new site.
Agency representatives announced plans to consolidate the Lompoc services under one roof at 1601 North H St.
The site, a former restaurant that sat empty for years, opened in 2014 as the Driver License Processing Center to issue special licenses to undocumented immigrants.
Lompoc is home to one of four temporary driver’s license processing centers the state opened to meet the requirements of Assembly Bill 60, which took effect Jan. 2, 2015.
The original field office at 209 W. Pine Ave. has continued to operate providing a full array of services.
However, the Pine Avenue office will close this Friday, the announcement said.
Three days later, the North H Street office will transform into a full service field office. DMV employees at the Pine Avenue office will be transferred to the North H Street location, a spokesman said.
Beginning Sept. 19, first-time driver license applicants will need to schedule an appointment prior to visiting the 1601 H Street office, DMV officials said.
In addition to being newer, the North H Street facility, at 9,150 square feet, offers more than twice the office space as the 4,060-square-foot Pine Avenue office, DMV officials said.
However, the North H Street office cannot accommodate motorcycle skills testing because of the site limitations.
Those customers will be directed to the Santa Maria field office at 523 S. McClelland St.
DMV officials note customers can use online services in many cases to avoid a trip to a DMV field office.
Online services include renewing vehicle registration and driver’s license, completing a change of address, requesting a driver’s record, and making an appointment.
In the first year under AB-60, the DMV issue 605,000 driver licenses, the agency said in January.
“DMV committed to successfully implementing this new law to increase safety on California’s roads by putting licensed drivers behind the steering wheel,” said DMV Director Jean Shiomoto. “One year after AB-60 implementation, there are 605,000 more drivers on the road who have passed all testing requirements and demonstrated their knowledge of California’s rules of the road.”
Under AB-60, the DMV can issue an original driver’s license to an applicant who lacks proof of legal presence in the United States but meets all other requirements to obtain a driver’s license.
They must provide proof of identity and California residency, and meet all other licensing requirements including written and driving tests.
During the program’s first year, the DMV administered more than 2 million knowledge and driver’s test examinations. As of Dec. 31, 2015, approximately 830,000 AB-60 applicants had sought licenses.
In addition to Lompoc, other Driver License Processing Centers opened in Stanton, Granada Hills, and San Jose with the DMV hiring and training approximately 1,000 new employees.
To schedule an appointment, click here or call 1.800.777.0133.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.