Sign of the times: Oregon DMV offices in Prineville, Coquille closed for day due to staffing issues

Agency is not immune to hiring challenges across public, private sectors

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – The Oregon DMV’s Prineville and Coquille offices were closed Tuesday due to staffing issues, a sign the agency is not immune from the staffing challenges facing many businesses in the public and private sectors.

"DMV is experiencing the same staff shortage as many customer-facing services, and it affects smaller offices most of all, because it only takes one or two illnesses to shut down an office with just one or two people," DMV spokesman David House said.

"But bigger offices are short-staffed too, so we can rarely send a substitute," he added.

That's likely to become a bigger issue as the DMV enters the busy summer season. House said Oregonians are urged to get their services at DMV2U.Oregon.gov whenever possible.

The DMV's Prineville and Madras offices have two employees each, House said.

"They are fully staffed, but a couple illnesses are all it takes to close an office when nearby offices are too busy," he said.

The DMV Redmond office typically has six workers, with one vacancy at present, while Bend has 18 positions, but five are currently vacant.

"That’s a super-busy office, so we can’t send relief from there," House said.

The agency's La Pine office, meanwhile, is open only part of the day on Thursday, with a staff member from the Bend office.

Amid the statewide staff shortages, the DMV is recruiting to fill positions, House noted.

"We hire locally, and list the Bend vacancies as fast as HR can process them," he said.

You can find job listings at https://oregon.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/SOR_External_Career_Site and learn more about ODOT jobs at: https://www.oregon.gov/odot/about/pages/career-opportunities.aspx