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Residents of Mission Viejo, Lake Forest, Rancho Santa Margarita and other South Orange County cities will find themselves driving further for in-person DMV appointments, such as behind-the-wheel tests starting next week.
The Laguna Hills DMV field office will close permanently after 37 years of operation starting 5:00 p.m. next Friday, Oct. 18.
The location, which opened in 1987, served nearly 170,000 people in 2023, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles Office of Public Affairs.
“I’ve lived here 48 years, and all my kids got their driver’s license here,” said Debi Waters, a Lake Forest resident who visited the field office to apply for a REAL ID. “I’m also an international exchange student mom, and I have enough international exchange students at my house. I’ve had over 70 kids live with me, and a lot of them get their driver’s license here.”
The REAL ID is an identification card that will be required for domestic flights as an alternative to bringing a passport. The deadline to fly domestic without either is May 7, 2025.
The deadline has been pushed back several times due to COVID-19 restrictions. Originally slated for October 2021, the looming deadline puts extra pressure on those needing to get one because they’re required to come into a DMV office to bring in documentation.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley is concerned with the timing of the closure in a city she represents.
“It would be helpful to get past the REAL ID deadline,” Foley said in a phone interview last month.
She also pointed out the strain this closure will put on other offices.
The closure leaves Orange County with five DMV field offices: Westminster, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, San Clemente and Fullerton.
The Costa Mesa office is the closest to the original location at 15 miles away.
In August, the Santa Ana office temporarily closed due to mold with no reopen date as of yet. The DMV is investigating and testing the office.
Neighboring Los Angeles County has 26 DMV field offices, Riverside County has 10 offices and San Diego County has 8 offices.
Two self-serve kiosks – one at a Ralphs in Aliso Viejo and another at a Pavilions in Mission Viejo – can be used to access services for South county residents looking for closer alternatives.
The DMV has nearly doubled the number of services offered online since 2019, and has moved towards digitizing the last few years.
Although the application processes can be started online, activities such as getting a REAL ID, taking a behind-the-wheel drive test to obtain a driver’s license and taking a vision test to renew a license must be completed in person.
For walk-in appointments, convenience is a key factor for some residents like Lovert Hogai. He came in to register his daughter’s vehicle who informed him that it needed to be done that same day.
Hogai noted that his drive from Tustin takes him 15 minutes on surface streets while the next closest DMV will be a 30 to 45 minute commute on a freeway.
Another Tustin resident, Debra Kooistra, said the parking was much better in comparison to other DMV’s she’s visited.
Some community groups and public officials have called for the branch to remain open.
Active lifestyle community Laguna Woods Village started a campaign at the end of last month to call for the location to remain open.
“This closure will pose a significant challenge to older adults in South Orange County. While many transactions are available online, drivers’ license renewals for persons 70+ and Real ID issuance (both for Real ID drivers’ licenses and Real ID identification cards) still require in-person appointments,” reads the campaign. “Both are critical for seniors and, after October 11, these transactions will require trips to Santa Ana, San Clemente or Costa Mesa.”
In August the DMV originally announced the closure date as Oct. 11 but it was pushed back a week for an unknown reason, according to a spokesperson in an email to Voice of OC. Orange County’s state legislative leaders sent an Aug. 26 letter to California DMV Director Steve Gordon asking him to reconsider the closure of the Laguna Hills office.
The DMV previously identified a space in Mission Viejo for relocation, but the city denied the conditional use permit.
Mission Viejo residents expressed concerns over public safety during a city council meeting on June 11.
Mayor Trish Kelley echoed similar concerns like negative impacts to surrounding businesses at the shopping center proposed and safety concerns for pedestrians in residential neighborhoods for test driving routes.
“We really cannot ignore the impact that this has on our neighborhoods,” Kelley said.
The department is no longer pursuing a relocation site.
Erika Taylor is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow and photojournalist. You can find her on Instagram @camerakeepsrolling or email at etaylor@voiceofoc.org
Gigi Gradillas is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at gigi.gradillas@gmail.com or on Twitter @gigigradillas.
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