The Department of Motor Vehicles in most states is the state agency responsible for licensing of registered drivers, the registration of motor vehicles, and also motor vehicle inspections prior to a sale or annual emissions inspections. The Department of Motor Vehicles, or DMV, is also responsible for the renewal of motor vehicle licenses, registrations, and sale or emissions inspections.

The Department of Motor Vehicles goes by different names depending on the state that you live in. In some states the agency responsible for issuing a drivers license or motor vehicle registrations is called the Motor Vehicle Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation or Highway Safety, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Registry of Motor Vehicles, or Department of Licensing. But whatever the name, the functions handled by these state government agencies is usually the same, the Department of Motor Vehicles issues drivers licenses, handles vehicle registration, motor vehicle inspections following motor vehicle sales or annual motor vehicle emissions inspections, and the renewal of all renewable motor vehicles license and registration documents.

Along with issuing drivers licenses and the renewal of motor vehicle registrations in the state, the Department of Motor Vehicles is responsible for several different motor vehicle inspections. The scope, occurrence, and renewal of motor vehicle inspections differs widely from state to state. In some states the Department of Motor Vehicles requires a motor vehicle inspection before or immediately following the sale of a motor vehicle. In other states, the Department of Motor Vehicles requires annual or bi-annual emissions inspections. And in other states, the department of motor vehicles requires a motor vehicle safety inspection annually or bi-annually, regardless of whether the motor vehicle being inspected has been offered for sale or not.

And who can forget heading down to the Department of Motor Vehicles on your 16th birthday to get your very first drivers license or to fill out the registration and inspection renewal papers for your very first car? Even if you never operate a motor vehicle, the Department of Motor Vehicles will touch your life in some way, whether for a state-issued ID license or in doing emissions inspections to keep our air clean or safety or sale inspections to ensure that all the motor vehicles on the road are in safe operating order.