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The Department of Motor Vehicles is a department of the state government in a U.S. state which handles matters related to automobiles such as issuing license plates and driver's licenses.
In some states, the DMV is known as the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, the Motor Vehicle Division, the Motor Vehicle Administration, or simply, Motor Vehicle Services.
Hawaii is the only state which has no state DMV. Vehicle registration and driver licensing in Hawaii have been delegated to county governments.
The state DMV and the federal IRS are the two government agencies which practically all Americans must deal with directly, at least once every year. DMVs in general have a reputation for mediocre customer service.
In some jurisdictions, driver's licenses and vehicle registrations are handled by separate departments. For example, in Washington, the Department of Motor Vehicles only deals with vehicle registrations, while the Department of Licensing is responsible for driver's licenses.
In others, the DMV is not a separate cabinet-level department, but instead is a division or bureau within a larger department. Examples of departments which perform DMV functions include the Department of Justice (e.g., Montana), the Department of Public Safety (e.g., Texas), and the Department of Transportation (e.g., Pennsylvania).
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