California DMV Online Services, Kiosks and the Virtual Office in 2026

What the DMV no longer does at the counter

The DMV's appointment page opens with what it calls Know Before You Go: the DMV does not provide counter service for vehicle registration renewal, for license or ID card renewal unless the renewal notice specifies an office visit, for driver and vehicle records, or for replacement driver's licenses. Those four are done online, at a DMV kiosk, with a DMV business partner or by mail. Appointments cover the rest, driving tests and most license applications among them, and the office pages on the offices list say what each office handles.

The online services, by what they do

The DMV's online services page sorts its applications into groups, and SearchSystems explains each one on its own guide. Renewals: vehicle registration, license or ID card, an upgrade to REAL ID, the permanent disabled person parking placard, planned nonoperation and a motor carrier permit. Applications and requests: the license or ID card application, a change of address, a disabled person parking placard, planned nonoperation, an affidavit of non-use and the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability. Orders: a driver record, a vehicle record, special interest or personalized plates and the Mussel Fee sticker. Replacements: a license, a sticker or registration card, a title, a placard and license plates. Lookups: Virtual Office case status, license or ID card status, registration status, an occupational license, a traffic school and the active motor carrier permit holders. Payments: a dishonored check, a reinstatement fee, a license reissue fee, and the fee calculators. Reports and certifications: an accident report, a medical examination report and the commercial behind-the-wheel training certification. The DMV also asks customers to create a MyDMV account and opt in to license and registration renewal notices by email, which it calls Go Paperless.

On SearchSystems: registration renewal on the registration renewal page, license renewal on the license renewal page, REAL ID on the REAL ID guide, placards on the disabled parking placards guide, planned nonoperation and the affidavit of non-use on the planned nonoperation guide, the release of liability on the selling a vehicle guide, records on the driving record guide, plates on the license plates guide, replacements on the replacement license guide and the replacement plates and stickers guide, the title on the vehicle title guide, the accident report on the insurance guide, the commercial certifications on the commercial license guide, the dishonored check and reissue payments on the payments and refunds guide, and the fees on the fees page.

Renewing a license or ID card online: the DMV's four doors

The DMV's online renewal page offers four paths. Renew, for a standard or REAL ID license or ID card. Convert to a REAL ID while renewing a standard card. Renew at a DMV office, for a driver who received a notice to renew in person, which the DMV says can be started online to save time at the visit; a driver over 70 is pointed to the DMV's renewal guide for 70 and over, and the DMV notes that a driver 70 or older renewing a license might not need a test, with the renewal notice as the place to check. Renew a commercial license, which the DMV says must be completed at a DMV office; the Virtual Office commercial renewal, below, starts the case online. The new card arrives in two to four weeks, and the DMV says to check the status online after 60 days. A license renewal online may require the DMV's eLearning course in place of the knowledge test, which the DMV describes as all-pass, no-fail, interactive, available any time on a computer, tablet or phone, in English, Spanish and Traditional Chinese with Mandarin audio; the course is on the knowledge and driving tests guide.

Before renewing, the DMV says an address change should be submitted at least five days earlier, and a name or gender identity change must be processed at an office after starting a new application online; other changes such as height and weight also take a new application and an office visit. Those changes are on the change of name or address guide, and the renewal rules, who may renew online and how often, on the license renewal page.

Replacing a sticker, a card, plates or a title online

A lost, stolen, destroyed or mutilated sticker or registration card is replaced through the DMV's online replacement application with the plate number, the registration information, the last five digits of the vehicle identification number and a payment. A sticker order includes a new registration card; the items are mailed within 14 days to the registered owner's address on record; a person with no California license or ID enters the word NONE in that field; the address cannot be changed on this application, so a move goes through the change of address system first, with its confirmation, and a found original sticker is to be destroyed. The DMV lists the vehicles that cannot use it: vessels, off-highway vehicles, special equipment plated vehicles, farm equipment, vehicles with registration due within 30 calendar days, vehicles with an expired or suspended registration, vehicles on planned nonoperation, junked, salvage-certificated and non-repairable vehicles, vehicles with titles surrendered to another state, vehicles with an open collections action, vehicles with an active Notice of Release of Liability on record, vehicles with a hold for processing, titling, citations or theft, permanent fleet registration vehicles, commercial vehicles under the International Registration Plan or partial year registration, and permanent trailer identification trailers; those use an Application for Replacement Plates, Stickers, Documents (REG 156) by mail or at an office.

Standard and non-personalized special plates are replaced through the Virtual Office's replacement plates application by the registered owner, with the plate number and the last three digits of the vehicle identification number; the DMV's table on that page prices a regular auto, commercial or motorcycle plate at $27, most sequential special interest plates (Breast Cancer Awareness, 1960s Legacy, Agricultural, Memorial, Museums, Collegiate, Lake Tahoe Conservancy, Pet Lover's, Whale Tail, Yosemite Foundation) at $35, the Arts Council plate at $22 and the Kids plate at $20, and says the fee is subject to change annually. Personalized plates, disabled person plates, motorcycles with sequential special plates other than Legacy, sequential Collegiate and Veteran's plates, a vehicle with two stolen plates or a motorcycle with a stolen plate, and every trailer are excluded on top of the list above; those file a REG 156 or a Special Interest License Plate Application (REG 17). A replacement title starts on the Virtual Office's replacement title page with the license or ID card, the last five digits of the vehicle or hull identification number and the plate number. The paper routes, fees and the temporary permit while plates are outstanding are on the replacement plates and stickers guide and the vehicle title guide.

The online change of address

A change of address needs no office visit, per the DMV's change of address page, which says to do it before applying for or renewing anything else, to allow up to three days for processing, and to check the status in a MyDMV account; a vehicle must be added to the MyDMV garage before its address can be changed. The DMV lists who cannot use it: anyone without a current California license or ID card or without a Social Security number, a holder of a California commercial license whose residence is in another state, anyone with an APO or FPO address or an address outside the United States, anyone who has applied for a REAL ID but not received it, and anyone changing the address on a disabled person parking placard, which has its own application. Those cases, and records the DMV says need special handling, file a Change of Address (DMV 14) by mail.

The DMV's answers on the page: the residential address is where you live and is released only to authorized requesters under what the DMV cites as California Code section 1808.21, the mailing address is where you want mail and may be given to requesters with a valid reason; no new license or registration card is issued on an address change, though replacements can be ordered once the change is confirmed; changing the address for the license does not change it for the vehicles or the other way around, but the MyDMV account can change both at once; a PO box works for mail but a residence address is required when the change includes the license; temporary mailing addresses are not allowed; you may change only your own address, for up to three vehicles in one transaction if they share an address; a new address in another state is accepted, with a reminder to check that state's license and registration rules, except for a California commercial license, which requires California residency and must be transferred to the new state; an occupational license address changes through the DMV's occupational licensing system; and during the online change you may register to vote or ask the DMV to tell the Secretary of State your new address, otherwise notifying the Secretary of State is on you. The name and gender changes that need an office are on the change of name or address guide.

The DMV Virtual Office

The DMV describes its Virtual Office as the way to take care of most DMV business without going into an office: complete the form, upload the documents, and a DMV customer service representative reviews them and contacts you to finalize the process. The transactions it lists: registration renewal and planned nonoperation; a replacement title, replacement plates, a disabled person parking placard application, replacement and permanent placard renewal; a commercial license renewal, the medical examination report and the commercial behind-the-wheel training certification; the industry applications for occupational licenses, autonomous vehicle testing, motor carrier permits, dismantled vehicles, new reports of sale for trailers and off-highway vehicles, and posting fees; and the reissue fee payment, the dishonored check payment and the accident report. A submitted case has a status check, and the DMV says digital wallets now pay for certain services, with the options shown on each application's payment screen.

Four of its applications in the DMV's own terms. The Report of Traffic Accident (SR-1) must be filed by you or your insurance agent, broker or legal representative within 10 days when someone is injured, however slightly, or killed, or property damage exceeds $1,000, in addition to any police, CHP or insurance report; it needs your license or ID, your plate or vehicle identification number, your insurance information and the other party's vehicle and insurance details, and the DMV says paper submissions take longer; the rule and the suspension that follows an uninsured accident are on the insurance guide. The placard application uploads an Application for Disabled Person Placard or Plates (REG 195) signed by the medical provider with proof of true full name and date of birth, a state license or ID, a U.S. birth certificate or a U.S. passport or passport card, and pays by bank account or card; the placard replacement generates the application automatically and is signed by the placard holder when someone else files it; the permanent placard renewal is free, done with the placard identification card or the renewal notice's QR code or Renewal Identification Number, and sends a new placard two to four weeks after the DMV receives the signature, with a REG 195 A for a mail or office renewal without the notice. The DMV's renewal page, as read on October 12, 2026, still describes the 2025 cycle, when about 260,000 holders of placards first issued between June 2019 and December 2020 had to sign under Senate Bill 611 and the new placards were set to expire in June 2027; the rule is on the disabled parking placards guide. The commercial license renewal requires a clean driving record, cannot be used with a hazardous materials endorsement or while suspended, asks for the license and a residency document, checks the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse status, and takes no payment until eligibility is determined; the commercial license guide has the rest. The DMV's second residency page adds that the time to answer its REAL ID residency letters electronically has expired and the letter and documents now go by mail to the Licensing Operations Division, PO Box 942890 M/S G-204, Sacramento, CA 94232-3450, or to any field office, with the REAL ID card remaining valid meanwhile.

DMV kiosks: what they do, what they cannot, what to bring

A DMV kiosk is a freestanding self-service machine with a touchscreen that guides you through DMV transactions, per the DMV's kiosk FAQ, which counts 289 of them in retail and DMV locations and says many accept cash. Without waiting in line a kiosk completes a registration renewal and prints the sticker on the spot, files planned nonoperation, pays a registration suspension reinstatement fee, submits or removes an affidavit of non-use, submits proof of insurance when the Vehicle Insurance Program asks for it, prints a driver record or a vehicle record, issues a replacement registration card or sticker, and renews or replaces a license or ID card. It cannot renew vessel registration, take proof of insurance for a registration renewal, process a change of address, or renew vehicles outside its list: autos, pickups, motorcycles, coach and park model trailers, and commercial vehicles that do not pay Commercial Vehicle Registration Act fees.

What to bring, in the DMV's list: for a renewal, the 8.5 by 11 inch renewal notice with the Renewal Identification Number at its top left, or the current registration card; for a replacement card or sticker, the plate number and the last five digits of the vehicle identification number; for a reinstatement fee or an insurance submission, the renewal notice, registration card or Vehicle Insurance Program letter carrying the PIN at its top middle; for a driver record, the license or ID card; for a vehicle record, the license or ID card, the plate number and the last five of the vehicle identification number. Credit and debit cards work at every kiosk with a 1.95 percent service fee, cash at all DMV offices and some retail locations, one payment method per transaction. Vehicle transactions run in English, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese; license transactions in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Tagalog, Thai and Vietnamese, which the DMV says match the Secretary of State's languages so voter registration can be offered. The kiosk prints the registration card and sticker, a PNO acknowledgment, the record or a receipt. Help with a kiosk transaction comes from the kiosk provider at 1-833-947-1670, which has no access to DMV records; everything else is the DMV at 1-800-777-0133 or TTY 1-800-368-4327. The nearest kiosks to each office are on that office's page from the offices list.

Business partners, Industry Business Centers and the border scales

The DMV authorizes companies such as dealers and registration services to process vehicle registration and title work as DMV business partners. Its online services page says they are not owned or operated by any government agency and are permitted to charge a service fee for the registration and title services they provide, and its office pages list the nearest ones. For the trade itself the DMV runs service centers: the service centers page lists eleven Industry Business Centers, in Bakersfield, Fairfield, Fresno, Covina (the Los Angeles Metro IBC), Mountain View, Placentia, El Cajon (Rancho San Diego), Sacramento (Florin), San Bernardino, San Marcos and Winnetka, with select centers taking appointments; each has its own page with address and hours from the offices list. Three Scales/Inspection Offices let interstate and intrastate commercial operators obtain the registration indicia needed to operate in California at the state border:

The permits and registrations a commercial operator picks up there are on the truck drivers guide and the commercial vehicle registration guide.

Phone lines, chat, interpreters and disability assistance

The DMV's contact center is 1-800-777-0133, with TTY at 1-800-368-4327 for typed messages from another TTY, and an online chat; the DMV's people with disabilities page says the agents cover nearly every service, from registration and license questions to where to take a test and what to expect, and can arrange help at a field office. Interpreters cost nothing: the DMV's interpreter services page says to tell a staff member and an appointment is scheduled when an interpreter in your language is available, or to call 1-800-777-0133 in business hours and say that foreign language assistance is needed; the page carries that notice in Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. An American Sign Language interpreter is arranged the same way or by calling 1-800-735-2929 through the California Relay Service from a TDD phone or 1-800-735-2922 from a voice phone. In the office, every DMV office has a Start Here sign for appointments and persons with disabilities where assistance or an accommodation is requested, a disability service counter that may issue a priority ticket after check-in, and an office manager trained in disability needs. Knowledge tests can be taken online, on paper, by audio, person to person or on a pre-recorded ASL DVD as well as on the in-office touchscreen terminal. Driver Safety matters have their own online case management system for notices, hearing scheduling, document uploads and questions, described on the medical conditions and driving guide.

Where complaints and fraud reports go

The DMV's complaints page takes reports of unlawful activity in California only, and names the typical kinds: document fraud, altering, forging or counterfeiting DMV documents from licenses and titles to placards, and false vehicle advertising; violations by licensed businesses such as dealers, brokers, salespeople, dismantlers, registration services and driving and traffic violator schools, for example failing to deliver registration documents or plates, contract violations, overcharging DMV fees or failing to transfer a registration; unlicensed businesses, including unlicensed dealers, brokers and salespeople the DMV calls curbstoners, and unlicensed dismantlers stripping vehicles without the required environmental protections; odometer rollback; disabled person placard abuse, which under Vehicle Code section 4461(b) and (c) includes lending a placard, using someone else's, forging the medical signature, displaying a counterfeit or a cancelled one and failing to report a stolen one; employee-related fraud; and a falsified request for someone else's mobile driver's license. The DMV's customer support page assigns the Investigations Division to dismantlers, salespersons, dealers, registration services, odometers, unlicensed activity, placards, license fraud, title and registration fraud and registration violations, and the Occupational Licensing Division to driving schools, traffic violator schools and ignition interlock devices. Driving school complaints are on the driving schools guide.

Questions about DMV online services and kiosks in California

What does the DMV no longer do at the counter?

Vehicle registration renewal, license and ID card renewal unless the renewal notice says otherwise, driver and vehicle records, and replacement licenses. The DMV's appointment page says these must be done online, at a DMV kiosk, with a DMV business partner or by mail.

Where are the kiosks?

Inside select DMV offices and retail locations during regular business hours; the DMV counts 289 of them in retail and DMV locations and says many accept cash. The DMV's kiosk locator finds the nearest one, and every SearchSystems office page names the kiosks the DMV lists near that office.

What do I bring to a kiosk to renew my registration?

The renewal notice the DMV mails each year, with the Renewal Identification Number at its top left, or the current registration card. Cards are accepted at every kiosk with a 1.95 percent service fee, cash at DMV offices and some retail locations, and only one payment method per transaction.

What is the DMV Virtual Office?

The DMV's online case system: you complete the form and upload the documents, a DMV customer service representative reviews them and contacts you to finish, and you can check the case status online. It handles the transactions listed below, from a replacement title to a commercial license renewal.

Can I change my address online?

Yes, with a California license or ID card and a Social Security number, for the license and up to three of your own vehicles at the same address, with up to three days of processing. The DMV says the online system cannot be used with a California commercial license and an out-of-state residence, an APO or FPO address, an address outside the United States, or a REAL ID applied for but not yet received; those cases mail a Change of Address (DMV 14).

Who do I call when a kiosk transaction goes wrong?

The kiosk provider, at 1-833-947-1670, for kiosk transactions only; the DMV says the provider has no access to DMV records. Everything else is the DMV at 1-800-777-0133, or TTY 1-800-368-4327.

Are DMV business partners part of the DMV?

No. The DMV authorizes companies such as dealers and registration services to process registration and title work, says they are not owned or operated by any government agency, and says they are permitted to charge a service fee.