The Oregon DMV Headquarters Building in Salem houses the central offices of the Driver and Motor Vehicle Division. (Oregon State Archives Photo)
The Driver and Motor Vehicle Division (DMV) promotes transportation safety, protects financial and ownership interests in vehicles, provides driver licenses and identification cards for Oregon residents and collects revenues for Oregon’s highway system. DMV generated about $322 million for Oregon’s transportation system in fiscal year 2015.
DMV has been part of the Department of Transportation since 1969, but its core functions date back to 1905. The “D” in DMV stood for “department” only for about 12 years—from 1956 to 1969. For more than half a century before that, driver licensing and motor vehicle registration and titling were part of Oregon’s Office of the Secretary of State.
DMV contributes to public safety by licensing only qualified persons and vehicles to drive on Oregon roads. DMV issues titles to protect the financial and ownership interests in vehicles. There are currently more than 3.5 million licensed drivers and more than 4.2 million registered vehicles in Oregon. DMV plays a major role in fraud prevention by enforcing strict identification standards in issuing driver licenses and ID cards, and providing driver and vehicle data to law enforcement and courts electronically.
DMV services touch almost every Oregonian by issuing nearly 600,000 driver licenses and ID cards, 850,000 vehicle titles, and 2 million vehicle registrations each year. DMV also regulates and inspects about 3,500 vehicle- and driver-related businesses, such as auto dealers and dismantlers. Each day, DMV serves more than 12,000 customers in its 60 field offices across Oregon, and each year, DMV serves about 1.7 million customers by telephone. Many transactions can be performed online. Through the multi-year Service Transformation Program, DMV is focused on updating business processes and tools, enhancing services and providing services in ways that today’s customers, business partners and the Legislature expect.
Contact Information
Mailing Address: 1905 Lana Ave. NE, Salem 97314
Telephone: Statewide: 503-945-5000; Toll-free (Portland): 503-299-9999
Fax: 503-945-0893
Legal and Legislative Information
Statutory Authority: ORS
184.615(3)
Records, Publications and General Information