Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles Customer Service

Calling the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is pretty straightforward, but the caller has to be ready to navigate through a bunch of directories with their personal information at hand, otherwise the phone call will take much longer than it should. I called because I wanted to talk about registering a new vehicle while I was waiting to get the permanent license plates from the dealer. My temporary plates were almost expired, but I didn’t have the permanent plates from the dealer yet.

The first thing the automated call message told me was that I could go online to deal with many issues, but I wanted to talk to someone without driving to the BMV so I could get my paperwork straight. In the past, you could call a local branch directly, but now you have to go through a centralized state phone directory. The recording also told me that I could go to the BMV and use the kiosk there to complete some services, which seemed silly because at that point I would just talk to someone. Either way, I ignored the repeated suggestions that I deal with the issue digitally and waited for the recording options. 

Once it finished telling me that, it gave me a number of options, including the option to check the hours of specific branches, learn more about reinstatement fees or check the status of licenses or plates. None of those options fit what I needed, so I pressed option four which was for all other inquiries. This led me to another directory which had a litany of options, none of which matched what I needed, so I had to press "other" again. 

The next thing it wanted was either my driver's license number or my Social Security number. I was busy at the moment and didn't have my license on me, nor did I feel comfortable typing in my Social Security number (I didn't want to say it out loud in public), so I pressed five, which was for people who didn’t have either number handy. I also didn’t see why I should need either number to ask a general question about what to do about my expired plates while waiting on the dealer. The system shouldn't need my identity information to advise me on this situation.

The other option took me to a recording that asked if I would participate in a survey after the call (I said no), and then I had to wait. I had to wait about 10 minutes before a customer rep answered the phone call. She was polite and offered me advice about renewing my temporary tags for another 30 days while I waited to receive the plates from the dealer. All in all, the experience was okay, but I think they should have an option to talk to a customer rep from the beginning.