- Success Story
myNCDMV: A customer engagement platform for all things DMV
Solutions deployed
The beginning of a digital transformation
With acres of parks, mountain views, top universities, and rich arts and culture, the State of North Carolina is certainly a beautiful place to live and explore. Already the ninth most populous state in the US, North Carolina ranks 5th among the fastest-growing states, adding an estimated 140,000 new residents in 2023 alone. Nearly 11 million residents enjoy the wide variety of things to do and places to see in the state, with about 8 million licensed drivers on the roads (and an additional 926,000 State ID cardholders).
To provide the growing number of drivers with a better DMV experience and improve access, the State of North Carolina and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) set out to modernize DMV services. NCDOT’s first step was launching its own online payment page for people looking to renew their vehicle registrations, but knew it could do more to improve the customer experience.
Former Secretary Eric Boyette, then NCDOT CIO, envisioned something more ambitious — a configurable, scalable platform that could serve all residents and aid the agency in communicating changes.
The myNCDMV platform serves millions of users across the state.
NCDOT partnered with PayIt to reimagine the DMV experience. myNCDMV launched in November of 2018 and is transforming how North Carolinians interact with their government. As of early 2024, the platform has more than 6.8 million users across the state who have completed more than 17 million transactions.
Partnering with PayIt to deliver the residents of North Carolina a citizen-centric experience has made myNCDMV incredibly successful.
myNCDMV results…
All things DMV — in one resident experience
myNCDMV provides an end-to-end DMV experience used by 3 out of 4 drivers in North Carolina. Residents can create a single, secure profile that combines and stores all of their payment, personal, and transaction information. Users can also set up alerts, keep track of upcoming renewal dates, and access valid digital versions of vehicle registrations from their phones.
When myNCDMV was first introduced residents could:
Renew their driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations
Pay vehicle property taxes
Order specialty license plates
Order duplicate licenses/ID cards
Additional features added since launch allow residents to:
Voter registration
Disability placard renewal
Driving record access
Administrative hearing requests & fees
Shifting residents to digital channels improves agency outcomes
North Carolina has seen a significant shift to digital channels since the launch of myNCDMV, easing its agency operations and increasing resident satisfaction. Paper bills all have a QR code to encourage folks to pay online, email enables the team to inform residents about new digital services, and NCDOT now has handy business cards with a QR code to help people easily navigate to online services.
Commissioner Goodwin has even reported that he stood in line with a customer and helped them access myNCDMV, where they completed their transaction — online, even in line!
Digital transactions are easier (and less time-consuming) for residents, and they help North Carolina bring in needed revenue quickly.
Words of advice: Put residents first
Digital modernization will, of course, help improve agency efficiency, but at the end of the day, keeping the resident experience at the forefront will give you the best chance at success. And don’t let assumptions guide your decisions — take the perspective of the end user, and understand your community to get the best outcome. Some practical advice:
- Many people are quick to say that older folks are slow to adopt new tech, but that hasn’t been the case in North Carolina. (Our recent research also suggests that age has little bearing on tech adoption.)
- Difficulties or confusion can arise, so think carefully about the language you use and the steps someone has to take to be able to use the technology.
- The terminology used by end users probably isn’t the same as what you use internally. How would you explain the task or requirement at a family gathering or cookout? That’s how you should explain it to users.
- If the experience isn’t clearly explained and intuitive to use, residents will abandon the online process. Make it as quick and straightforward as possible to complete tasks.
Building a trusted customer engagement platform
PayIt’s platform enables NCDOT to be responsive to the needs of North Carolinians alongside changes in legislation and events such as the pandemic. myNCDMV has become a trusted customer engagement platform and an essential communication vehicle.
During the myNCDMV sign up process, residents can choose to receive messages from NCDOT, which has made a huge impact on communication during DMV changes:
- Each month, registration renewal emails are sent to myNCDMV users with eligible vehicles. When offices closed due to COVID-19, myNCDMV was able to clearly communicate how to register vehicles and get the required inspections safely.
- During the pandemic, a major law affecting teen drivers’ provisional licenses was changed.
- The law has since reverted, and residents were notified immediately.
- Similarly, the appointment procedure has evolved over the past several years, and a walk-in wait time tool launched to support those changes.
These days, effectively communicating with residents can be a challenge. Yet, the people who opted in to receive messages from NCDOT got important information delivered right to their inbox, and the majority of residents who opted in are reading those messages. For example, the email detailing changes to the teen driver law and appointment procedure had a 58% open rate — around four times higher than their previous email open rate average, showcasing the trust and engagement myNCDMV has fostered.
Our team did a full court press with media all year long, and still heard from people that they were confused, but after that email, they understood the changes.
State of North CarolinaImproving today, tomorrow, and always
Modern government technology has opened new ways for North Carolina to interact with their community. myNCDMV allows the NCDOT to reduce the need for in-office visits significantly, rely less on manual processes, and safely serve the people of North Carolina.
With continued service expansion on the horizon, the impact of myNCDMV continues to grow — a singular and all-inclusive digital government experience.
