Driver licensing and vehicle registration in the United States is in all states but Hawaii, where the counties deal with DMVing, handled at the state level. Although the federal government could theoretically take over such functions through its ability to regulate interstate commerce, it has refrained from doing so.
Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Ohio and Indiana)
Registry of Motor Vehicles (Massachusetts)
Motor Vehicle Division (Arizona)
Department of Licencing (Washington)
Note that Washington has a DMV, but it deals with vehicle registration. Driver registration is dealt with by the Lic. Dept.
Driver and Vehicle Services Division (Minnesota)
Motor Vehicle Administration (Maryland)
Motor Vehicle Commission (New Jersey), but formerly called the DMV
The organization is called the Motor Vehicle Commission, but the local offices and inspection stations refer to themselves as "Motor Vehicle Services"
New Jersey has confusing titles for the high officeholders in this part of government: The head of the Department of Transportation is referred to as the "Commissioner", while the head of the MVC/MVS is referred to as the "Chief Administrator".
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Each state handles their motor vehicle agency in a different manner, some examples and unusuall setups:
Hawaii is the only U.S. state where no part of the state government performs DMV functions; it has completely delegated vehicle registration and driver licensing to county governments. In the City & County of Honolulu, the functions are further delegated to an office of the Department of Finance.
In the District of Columbia, which is not part of any state, the DMV (formerly the Bureau of Motor Vehicle Services) is part of the city government.
In some jurisdictions, driver's licenses and vehicle registrations are handled by separate departments. For example, in the state of Washington, the Department of Motor Vehicles only deals with vehicle registrations, while the Department of Licensing is responsible for driver's licenses.
In others, the DMV is not a separate cabinet-level department, but instead is a division or bureau within a larger department. Examples of departments which perform DMV functions include the Department of Justice (Montana), the Department of Public Safety (Texas), the Department of Revenue (Missouri), and the Department of Transportation (Pennsylvania and New Jersey).
A few states do not separate DMV functions into distinct organizational entities at all, but simply bundle them into a laundry list of responsibilities assigned to an existing government agency. Thus, in Michigan and Illinois, the Secretary of State's offices perform responsibilities which would be handled by the DMV in other states.
Usually, all long-term residents of a state must possess a driver's license issued by their state DMV, and their vehicles must show license plates (and current registration tags or stickers) issued by that agency.
The main exceptions to the above rule are vehicles registered by the federal government. The Office of Foreign Missions at the U.S. Department of State has a Diplomatic Motor Vehicles program which issues driver's licenses to foreign diplomats and their dependents, registers their vehicles, and issues special "CONSUL" license plates. The General Services Administration issues vehicle plates for the federal vehicle fleet (although federal employees who drive must hold driver's licenses issued by their home state).
In some states, besides conducting the written and hands-on driving tests that are a prerequisite to earning a driver's license, DMVs also regulate private driving schools and their instructors.