The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services announced in December that Oahu residents could take their written learner’s permit test online — without an appointment. On Monday, the department released data on how many people are taking their learner’s permit test online, and the results show the number of monthly users has been steadily rising since the rollout of the digital service.
During the first month of rollout, 284 people took the test online; In January, 653 people took the test online; And last month, 1,009 people took the test online.
After passing the online test, applicants must make an in-person appointment at a county driver licensing center within 30 days to complete the application process and obtain a learner’s permit. However, the Department of Customer Services, which administers Division of Motor Vehicles services in the City and County of Honolulu, said that even though a follow-up appointment is required, taking the learner’s permit test online frees up time for DMV staff, because the follow-up appointment only takes about 15 minutes to complete, whereas someone taking the test in person needs about 45 minutes to complete the appointment.
“We can have three appointments serviced in the same amount of time as one in-person written test slot,” said Bill Powers, a spokesperson for the Department of Customer Services. “The online test is more convenient for the applicant and is more efficient for our DMV staff.”
Last year, the Division of Motor Vehicles got an average of 550 in-person appointments every week. However, with more people taking the test online, the DMV can free up in-person appointment slots for the more than 146,000 driver’s licenses expected to be issued this year in the City and County of Honolulu. The Department of Customer Services is also expecting a sharp increase in driver’s license renewals in 2026, because a 2010 law made driver’s licenses valid for eight years, instead of six, and this would be the second expiration cycle (with 2018 being the first).
“We are encouraged to see the online permit test catching on with residents as we proactively prepare to meet increased demand for in-person appointments over the next two years,” said Kim Hashiro, director of the city’s Department of Customer Services in a statement.
