There are three San Diego CA DMV offices inside the city: San Diego on Normal Street, Clairemont and San Ysidro. Large parts of the city are closer to offices in neighboring cities, though: Poway for Rancho Bernardo and the other northern neighborhoods, Chula Vista for Paradise Hills and Encanto, and El Cajon for Navajo. All of them keep the same weekday hours, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. with a 9:00 a.m. start on Wednesdays, and none gives commercial drive tests.
Clairemont is closed for now: the office closed at 5 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2026, after damage from a water leak, and the DMV hasn’t given a reopening date. Until it reopens, Normal Street is the nearest open office for most of the neighborhoods Clairemont normally serves, and Poway is closer for Carmel Valley and Mira Mesa.
San Diego CA DMV Offices at a Glance
| Office | Address | Kiosk | Mobile license help |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego (Normal Street) | 3960 Normal St. | No | Yes |
| Clairemont | 4375 Derrick Drive | Yes | Yes |
| San Ysidro | 6111 Business Center Court | Yes | No |
| Poway | 13461 Community Road, Poway | No | Yes |
| Chula Vista | 30 N. Glover Ave., Chula Vista | Yes | Yes |
| El Cajon | 1450 Graves Ave., El Cajon | Yes | Yes |
All six handle licenses, REAL ID, knowledge tests, car and motorcycle drive tests, titles and registration, and mobile license help follows the DMV’s list of offices that help in person. Commercial skills tests go to the Rancho San Diego commercial drive test center in El Cajon. Two names cause mix-ups: the office the DMV calls simply “San Diego” is the one on Normal Street, and the San Ysidro office is about 2.5 miles northeast of San Ysidro’s village, near Otay Mesa.
Which San Diego DMV Office Is Closest to You?
Straight-line distances from a few neighborhoods in each part of the city:
- Central San Diego: Normal Street for Hillcrest (about 1 mile), North Park and Mission Valley (about 1.5), downtown (about 2.5), Old Town and City Heights (about 3), the College Area and Allied Gardens (about 5) and Point Loma and Ocean Beach (about 5 and 6).
- Mission Bay and the coast: Clairemont for Clairemont itself (about 1 mile), Kearny Mesa (about 2.5), Linda Vista, Bay Park and Serra Mesa (about 3), Pacific Beach and University City (about 3.5), Tierrasanta (about 4.5), Mission Beach and La Jolla (about 5.5) and Carmel Valley (about 9).
- North: Poway for Carmel Mountain Ranch (about 3 miles), Rancho Bernardo (about 5), Scripps Ranch and Rancho Peñasquitos (about 5 each) and Mira Mesa (about 6.5, with Clairemont at 7).
- East: El Cajon for Navajo and San Carlos (about 5 miles).
- South: Chula Vista for Paradise Hills and Encanto (about 3 and 4.5 miles), and San Ysidro for Otay Mesa West (about 1.5), San Ysidro’s village (about 2.5) and Nestor (about 4.5). Barrio Logan is closer to Normal Street, at about 3.5.
Kiosks Open Every Day
No DMV office in San Diego opens on weekends, and the Normal Street office has no kiosk, but grocery store kiosks handle registration renewals and driver and vehicle records seven days a week. A few of them:
| Kiosk | Address | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Ralphs | 101 G St. (downtown) | 5:00 a.m.–2:00 a.m. |
| Vons | 3550 Murphy Canyon Road | 5:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m. |
| Food 4 Less | 4995 Shawline St. | 6:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m. |
| Ralphs | 3011 Alta View Drive | 6:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m. |
| Ralphs | 11875 Carmel Mountain Road | 6:00 a.m.–1:00 a.m. |
Before You Go
Appointments are optional except for drive tests, and the DMV’s wait times page shows the current waits at every office, so compare two nearby offices before you choose. Start any license or REAL ID application online and bring the originals; the DMV’s REAL ID checklist lists accepted documents, and our California DMV appointment guide covers booking, drive tests and what to bring. For vehicle paperwork, see our guide to registering a car in California; use tax in the city of San Diego is 7.75% as of October 2026. Offices take cash, checks, money orders, cards and digital wallets (with a 2.1% fee on cards and wallets) and close on Veterans Day (Nov. 11), Thanksgiving (Nov. 26–27), Christmas (Dec. 25) and New Year’s Day (Jan. 1, 2027). Our California DMV offices list covers the rest of the county and the state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Three inside the city: Normal Street, Clairemont and San Ysidro. Poway, Chula Vista and El Cajon have their own offices, and each is the closest for some San Diego neighborhoods.
No. All of them are open on weekdays only, but grocery store kiosks such as the Ralphs at 101 G St. downtown are open every day for registration renewals and records.
Conclusion
San Diego has three DMV offices, but the closest one depends on the neighborhood: Normal Street for central San Diego, Clairemont for Mission Bay and the coast, San Ysidro for Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, and Poway, Chula Vista or El Cajon for parts of the north, south and east. Compare live waits before you go, book ahead for a drive test, and use a grocery store kiosk for renewals.
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