Temporary driver license office opens in Manteo amid 2-week Nags Head office closure from insect infestation

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles’ driver license office in Nags Head closed on Friday, Dec. 13, and is scheduled to reopen on Monday, Dec. 29. (Photo by Corinne Saunders)

By Corinne Saunders

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A temporary North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles’ (NCDMV) driver license office is open in Manteo for four days amid a two-week-long closure of the Nags Head office due to an insect infestation.

The Nags Head office closed for an “insect extermination project,” NCDMV Communications Officer John Brockwell said in a Thursday email response to Outer Banks Insider’s query.

“Unknown as to the specifics of the infestation,” Brockwell said.

The temporary office—open Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday—is located in the former Dare County campus of the College of The Albemarle (COA) at 132 Russell Twiford Road in Manteo, according to a Wednesday afternoon NCDMV press release.

Operating hours for the temporary office, which the release said offers “express services on a walk-in basis,” are as follows:

• Thursday, Dec. 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  
  

• Friday, Dec. 19, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  
  

• Monday, Dec. 22, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  
  

• Tuesday, Dec. 23, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

NCDMV offices statewide are closed Wednesday, Dec. 24, through Friday, Dec. 26, in observance of the Christmas holiday, according to the release.

The Nags Head driver license office, located at 2808 S. Croatan Highway (U.S. Highway 158) in Nags Head, is scheduled to reopen on Monday, Dec. 29, at 7 a.m., according to a sign on its door.

The posted sign said that the office closed on Friday, Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. “due to maintenance issues” and that all appointments will be honored at the Elizabeth City driver license office. 

An NCDMV press release sent Sunday, Dec. 14, said that the Nags Head office “is closed for the next two weeks to allow for office building maintenance,” and, “All customers with appointments have been rescheduled.”

The release also noted that four other driver license offices in the area remained open, in Elizabeth City, Edenton, Williamston and Washington.

NCDMV Commissioner Paul Tine, a Kitty Hawk resident appointed to the role in May, arranged for the temporary office to be set up in Manteo, according to Brockwell.

“Commissioner Tine worked out an arrangement with COA to utilize a building on the old campus in Manteo to set up a temporary office there through Dec. 23 so OBX customers would not have so far to travel to another location while the Nags Head office is going through maintenance,” Brockwell said.

“This temporary solution allows us to maintain service in the area during the Nags Head office closure,” Tine said in the Wednesday press release. “Thanks to the College of The Albemarle for its partnership and DMV staff for their dedication and hard work in quickly establishing this temporary location.”

The last time a temporary office opened because of a sudden closure was a temporary license plate agency that operated in Jacksonville for part of 2022, according to Brockwell.

Driver license renewals and other services are available online at NCDMV.gov. Both recent press releases about the Outer Banks’ driver license office encouraged customers to check to see if their driver license needs could be met online.

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