California DMV Hours: Open & Close Times, Holiday & Saturday Hours by Location
California DMV field offices are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and open an hour later, at 9:00 AM, on Wednesday. They are closed on Saturday and Sunday. We read 17 field office pages on dmv.ca.gov on October 13, 2026, and 16 of them showed that exact pattern, while one, Inglewood, showed every day as closed. The DMV's own holiday page lists the 2026 closures, including a two-day Thanksgiving closure.
Why California DMV Hours Vary by Office
California DMV does not operate on a single uniform schedule. Field offices, county clerk branches, and service centers establish local operational windows, mandatory appointment requirements, and holiday observances according to state and county administrative rules.
Based on the State of California Department of Motor Vehicles official operating policies and state employee holiday schedule.
Typical California DMV Hours at a Glance
| Operating Factor | Typical Policy & Schedule Tendency |
|---|---|
| Typical Weekday Window | Typically 08:00 – 17:00 (Varies by location) |
| Typical Weekend Schedule | Closed Saturdays and Sundays at virtually all field offices |
| Service Policy | Appointments required or strongly recommended; walk-in lines subject to daily capacity limits |
| Holiday Observance | Strictly closed on all official state and federal civil service holidays |
| Where to Confirm | Direct Search on California DMV Official Locator |
California DMV Hours: Monday to Friday, With a Later Wednesday
Each California DMV field office page shows the next seven days with dates, so you can see a specific day rather than a generic schedule. The pages we opened on October 13, 2026 listed Monday, October 12 through Sunday, October 18.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Tuesday | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Wednesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Thursday | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Friday | 8:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
Sixteen of seventeen offices matched this table: Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Newhall, Santa Monica, Hollywood, San Jose, Fresno, Bakersfield, Oakland, Van Nuys, Long Beach, Riverside and Stockton. The seventeenth, Inglewood, listed every day as closed. The Wednesday 9:00 AM start is the one detail that catches people out, since the day looks like any other weekday.
The California DMV Week at a Glance
That is a 44-hour week at the counter at the offices we checked: four nine-hour days and an eight-hour Wednesday. Because the offices are closed on weekends, and the DMV's holiday page states that DMV offices are closed on weekends, a holiday that falls on a weekday removes one of only five service days.
Is the California DMV Open on Saturday or Sunday?
No, at every office we read. All 17 pages listed Saturday and Sunday as closed, and the DMV's holiday page repeats the point: DMV offices are closed on weekends. If you cannot visit on a weekday, DMV Now kiosks and online services are the alternatives the DMV promotes on its locations page, where it says most DMV business can be started and completed online.
- Office hours: Monday to Friday only.
- Weekend options: online services and self-service kiosks listed on the DMV locations page.
- Find an office: dmv.ca.gov/portal/locations, then search by ZIP code or city name and filter by service.
California DMV Holiday Closures in 2026
The DMV publishes a short page titled DMV Holidays that begins, All DMV offices are closed on the following days. These are the weekday dates it lists for 2026 and the start of 2027.
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| Thursday, January 1, 2026 | New Year's Day |
| Monday, January 19 | Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
| Monday, February 16 | Presidents' Day |
| Tuesday, March 31 | Farmworkers Day |
| Monday, May 25 | Memorial Day |
| Monday, September 7 | Labor Day |
| Wednesday, November 11 | Veterans Day |
| Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27 | Thanksgiving (two days) |
| Friday, December 25 | Christmas Day |
| Friday, January 1, 2027 | New Year's Day |
Two points are worth noting. Thanksgiving closes the DMV for two days, Thursday and Friday, so a visit on November 27 will not work. And October 12, Columbus Day, is not on the list: the Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Costa Mesa pages all showed Monday, October 12 as 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. We found no DMV statement on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve closings.
Field Offices, Service Centers and Kiosks: Which Hours Apply?
The DMV locations page lets you search for an office, a self-service kiosk or a community partner, with filters for distance, location type and service. It also describes DMV Service Centers, which provide business services to the vehicle industry rather than the general public. The hours we report here are for field offices, the public counters most drivers use. Kiosks and community partners follow their own schedules, shown in the search results.
| Location type on the DMV search | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Field office | Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, Wed 9:00 am – 5:00 pm (17 offices read) |
| DMV Service Center | Business services for the vehicle industry |
| Self-service kiosk | Hours listed on its own page in the search results |
| Online services | Most DMV business can be started and completed online, per the DMV |
Planning Your Visit Around the Rest of 2026
Three closures fall in the next ten weeks. Veterans Day closes every office on Wednesday, November 11. Thanksgiving closes them on both Thursday, November 26 and Friday, November 27, so the week of the holiday has only three service days, Monday through Wednesday. Christmas Day closes them on Friday, December 25. If you need an office in November, Tuesday, November 10 and Monday through Wednesday of the week of November 23 are the days either side of those closures, and the Wednesday 9:00 AM start still applies.
Is My DMV Office Open Right Now? Reading the Office Page
Each office page at dmv.ca.gov/portal/field-office/{city} lists the coming days with dates, such as Wednesday Oct. 14 9am-5pm and Saturday Oct. 17 closed. That makes it easy to catch a holiday or a one-off change, because a closed weekday would appear with the date. The one page that looked wrong in our sample was Inglewood, which showed all seven days closed; if your office shows that, check the DMV news page and call before you go.
- Open the field office page and read the day you plan to visit.
- Look for the date in the listing so you do not confuse next week with this week.
- If every day reads closed, check the DMV news page for a temporary closure or renovation.
- Search the DMV locations tool by ZIP code or city and filter by service.
Confirmed California DMV Locations by City
2 Metropolitan HubsLooking for a specific store? Select a city below for street addresses, local phone lines, and branch-specific hours:
Frequently Asked Questions About California DMV Hours
Answers to the most common customer questions regarding operating schedules, holiday policies, and weekend hours.
Field offices we checked were open 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Wednesday.