1Hours

Day	Hours
Monday	8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Tuesday	8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Wednesday	9:00 AM – 5:00 PM (opens one hour late)
Thursday	8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Friday	8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Saturday – Sunday	Closed

Hours per the official DMV office page. State holidays can change hours — confirm on dmv.ca.gov before you go.

2Services at this office

• Licensing Services (driver licenses, ID cards, REAL ID)
• Testing (knowledge/written tests — note: not offered after 4:30 PM statewide)
• Title Transfers
• Registration
• Plates, Permits, & Placards
• Replace Lost/Stolen/Damaged (plates, registration, title)
• Records
• Request miscellaneous original documents
• Self Service Terminals — this office has a self-serve kiosk (quick registration services, no appointment)

Drive tests: the office lists generic “Testing.” Whether behind-the-wheel drive-test slots are currently offered here is only visible inside the official scheduler’s appointment-type step — check there rather than driving over on a guess.

Payments accepted: Cash, Check, Credit Card, Debit Card, Digital Wallet, Money order.

3Booking an appointment here

1. Go to the official DMV appointment scheduler.
2. Choose your appointment type (field-office visit vs. behind-the-wheel drive test).
3. Search by ZIP (92117) or “San Diego” and pick this office.
4. Booking is free — the DMV never charges to make an appointment.
5. Prefer phone? Call 1-800-777-0133 (automated 24/7; live reps Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM).

Booking difficulty — honest notes: San Diego’s main office is busy — if Clairemont shows no availability, try Chula Vista or El Cajon in the same scheduler search. Also confirm whether your task needs a visit: renewals and many records requests get no counter service.

For the full walkthrough — which type to pick, what to do when nothing’s available — see our California DMV appointment guide.

4Nearby DMV offices

• San Diego (Normal Street) — 3960 Normal Street, San Diego, CA 92103
• Chula Vista — 30 N Glover Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91910 (kiosk available)
• El Cajon — 1450 Graves Avenue, El Cajon, CA 92021 (kiosk available)

5Frequently asked questions

Address: 4375 Derrick Dr, San Diego, CA 92117 (already verified — not re-researched)

Research date: 2026-10-18. All facts carry inline source notes and confidence tags [verified / reported / unverified].

Google/Yelp reviews — what real people actually say

Aggregate rating: Google shows the San Diego Clairemont DMV at roughly 3.6 stars across ~1,220 reviews [reported — Source: nextdoordriving.com Google-review aggregation, crawled ~Oct 2026]. For context from the same aggregation, nearby offices rate as follows: San Diego Central (3960 Normal St) 2.9, Poway 3.4, Chula Vista 3.6, San Ysidro (6111 Business Center Ct) 4.0, and El Cajon 4.2 [reported — same source]. So Clairemont sits in the middle-to-upper range of San Diego County DMVs by raw Google rating — notably better-rated than the downtown Normal St office. Recurring complaint patterns [all reported — Source: manualdobruxo.com.br Clairemont DMV guide; oreteai.com wait-time guide; note these are SEO content sites, not direct review quotes]:

• Crowds and waits. The office’s longstanding reputation is for multi-hour waits — one guide describes “six-hour waits” and “lines wrapping around the beige building” as the office’s historical norm [reported]. Multiple guides stress the office gets “hammered” because it serves a huge catchment (UCSD students to Kearny Mesa families) [reported].
• The parking lot. Described as “notoriously tight” — drivers “circling like vultures,” with some giving up and parking on the surrounding residential streets [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].
• REAL ID document confusion. The REAL ID rush is described as the main reason people still queue here; reviewers/guides advise uploading documents online beforehand to skip the longest queue [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].

Recurring praise patterns [reported — same guides]:

• The self-serve kiosk in the lobby is repeatedly praised as a line-skipper for registration renewals (“like ATMs for your car tags… No line”) [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].
• The “Get in Line” virtual queue (check in by phone, get a text when your turn nears) is presented as the single biggest experience upgrade versus the old 6 AM lawn-chair routine [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].
• Well-prepared visitors (appointment + uploaded documents) report being in and out in as little as ~20 minutes [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].

Review-quote limitation: Yelp/Google individual review text could not be retrieved via text-fetch in this session, so no verbatim customer quotes are included — every pattern above is tagged reported, not quoted. [unverified — direct quotes omitted]

Drive-test info — routes and what examiners look for

Route structure: Clairemont reportedly uses two behind-the-wheel test routes (one with two small variations). “Clairemont DMV Route 1A” runs clockwise from the office; “Route 1B” is a variation of it [reported — Source: jenny42.com San Diego drive-test guide, which cites 2019 route information; the page notes it was AI-generated, so treat street-level detail as reported/low confidence]. The second route reportedly passes a tall building with a lane merge in front of it — guides stress signaling and checking for merging traffic there [reported — jenny42.com]. What examiners watch for at Clairemont [reported — Source: jenny42.com; manualdobruxo.com.br]:

• Lane changes without signaling (most common mark).
• In the DMV parking lot: not stopping when another car is backing up.
• The bike-lane merge: Clairemont routes include right turns where you must merge through a bike lane — failing to look over your shoulder is a common fail point [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].
• Downhill speed control: the hilly residential streets make it easy to coast to ~30 mph in a 25 zone on downhill sections [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].
• Speed too high or too low for too long; rolling stops at stop signs.
• “Examiner luck” matters — one first-person account describes failing the first attempt (examiner hit the passenger brake in the parking lot) and passing the second with a different examiner on the same route [reported — jenny42.com].

Pass-rate claim: One PDF found in search results claims Clairemont shows a ~62% first-time pass rating [unverified — Source: dananeye.com PDF, low-quality aggregator; do NOT publish as fact]. Practice tip reported by locals: driving schools practice the exam routes on weekends (Sunday mornings); the routes are in use by test-takers Monday–Friday, so practicing on a weekday can backfire if an examiner remembers your plate [reported — jenny42.com].

Services unique to this office

• Self-serve kiosk on site for registration renewals and tag replacements — lets visitors skip the clerk line entirely [verified — Source: dmv.ca.gov “San Diego Clairemont” field-office page, crawled ~Oct 2026; also listed as “Kiosk Available”].
• AAA Clairemont Branch — DMV-authorized business partner, 4973 Clairemont Drive, San Diego, CA 92117, phone 1-858-483-4960. Authorized for DMV registration services, member use only; listed hours Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 9am–1pm [verified — Source: dmv.ca.gov San Diego Clairemont field-office page, which lists business partners alongside the field office]. Verification note: some third-party directory pages (countyoffice.org) claim the Clairemont DMV is “located inside the AAA Clairemont Branch.” This is contradicted by dmv.ca.gov, which lists the DMV field office (4375 Derrick Dr) and the AAA branch (4973 Clairemont Dr) as separate locations [verified — dmv.ca.gov vs reported — countyoffice.org]. Use the dmv.ca.gov version.
• Catchment note: the office serves a large central-San Diego area including UCSD-area students and Kearny Mesa families [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].

Best/worst times (as reviewers/guides report — NOT official)

• Best: Mid-week mornings, specifically Tuesday or Thursday around 10:30 AM, are cited as the sweet spot [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br]. Afternoons are generally described as lighter than opening-hour mornings [reported — oreteai.com]. A California-wide pattern (not office-specific): Tuesday–Thursday and the middle of the month are best; avoid Mondays, Fridays, and the first/last days of the month [reported — costulessdirect.com DMV guide].
• Worst: Mondays (“everyone who realized their license expired over the weekend”) and Fridays (“get it done before the weekend” crowd); the day after any holiday is historically the worst time at any DMV branch [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].
• Tactical tip: join the “Get in Line” virtual queue from 8:00 AM on the day of your visit, and for REAL ID bring the online document-upload confirmation code to bypass the longest outdoor queue [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br].

Banned-topic compliance: no walk-in policy, same-day availability, exact wait-time, or Saturday-hour claims are made above — dmv.ca.gov shows the office as closed Sat–Sun [verified — qr.dmv.ca.gov].

Nearby practical info

Parking: The on-site lot is small for the office’s volume — described as “notoriously tight,” with drivers circling and some parking on adjacent residential streets [reported — manualdobruxo.com.br]. One tip: if you don’t find a spot within a few minutes, park a block away and walk rather than keep circling [reported]. A drive-test-route directory notes parking at the test center is only “occasionally feasible” and suggests parking nearby and walking [reported — dmvroadtestroutes.com]. Food within a few blocks (for long waits): The office sits just off Clairemont Mesa Blvd (geocode places it in “Clairemont Mesa East,” lat 32.82351, lon -117.1831) [verified — map geocoder], and the boulevard corridor has abundant options a short drive/walk away [reported unless noted]:

• KFC, 4290 Clairemont Mesa Blvd (10am–11pm daily) — closest fast-food option [reported — Source: kfc.com location page, crawled ~Oct 2026].
• Yakitori Taisho, 5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd (Japanese skewers, dinner) and Menya Ultra, 8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd (award-winning ramen, Michelin Guide listed) [reported — Source: exploreclairemont.com].
• Aladdin Mediterranean, 5420 Clairemont Mesa Blvd and Wa Dining Okan, 3860 Convoy St (the Convoy corridor is a few minutes by car) [reported — Source: sandiegorestaurants.com].
• Subway, 5517-C Clairemont Mesa Blvd (Madison Square Shopping Center) [reported — Source: subway.com location page].
• Clairemont Square / Clairemont Town Square shopping area on Clairemont Mesa Blvd — includes grocery, fast food, and coffee chains; a nearby apartment review notes Five Guys, Chipotle, Vons, Target, CVS, and Walgreens in the immediate Clairemont Mesa corridor [reported — apartmentratings.com resident review].

Public transit

• MTS Route 27 (Pacific Beach – Kearny Mesa Transit Center): runs along the Clairemont Mesa Blvd corridor — the same corridor the DMV sits just off — with roughly 30-minute frequency, daily service from ~5:33 AM to ~9:24 PM weekdays [reported — Source: Moovit MTS Route 27 listing, crawled ~Sep 2026].
• MTS Route 105 (Old Town Transit Center – Clairemont Square – UTC): serves the Clairemont Square / Clairemont Mesa Blvd & Balboa Ave area, a short ride from the DMV [reported — Source: sdmts.com Route 105 schedule].
• Connections: Route 27 passes through the Balboa Ave Transit Center, where riders can transfer to the Blue Line Trolley [reported — Source: sandiegocounty.gov meeting-directions packet, 2025].

Confidence summary: dmv.ca.gov facts (kiosk, AAA partner, hours, CDL) = verified. Ratings and route detail = reported. Pass-rate percentage = unverified, do not publish.

Official office page: dmv.ca.gov/portal/field-office/san-diego-clairemont/

Last verified against dmv.ca.gov: November 2026