EVERETT, Wash. — Before the doors even open at Everett's Department of Licensing (DOL) office, about 30 people stand in line hoping to beat the backup.
Kari Lineaweaver is the first face to greet them.
"It is important to be excited to see them and get them where they need to be as quickly as they can," she said, smiling.
But what if there was a way to avoid the lines and the waiting and have the DOL come to you?
It's called DOL2Go.
A two-year pilot program is sending a van to every corner of Washington state, bringing DOL services to places like the San Juan Islands, which have no DOL office.
Sloth-like delays at the DOL are largely a thing of the past these days, but the reputation lingers. Ed Blas showed up early to get his commercial driver's license paperwork processed.
"You just have to be prepared. It's a waiting game," he said. "You have to understand that you're not the only one here."
On this day, it's in Everett where Elizabeth Marlin is taking a make-up photo.
"I'm just trying to get a new driver's license because my picture was horrible and I was trying to get a better one," she said with a laugh.
But the primary purpose of the program is much more serious. The DOL is taking services to people who might otherwise not get them — folks in remote towns, people with disabilities, refugees and immigrants.
"We're trying to meet people where they're at and help people who may have more physical barriers to getting to one of our offices, like driving one to two hours, or people experiencing homelessness," said DOL spokesperson Thomas Charlson. "ID cards can be a barrier for getting into housing so this is a good resource for them to get that physical identification card."
DOL2Go provides the same services as a brick and mortar office. Customers can renew a driver's license, get a state ID card and process paperwork. The only things you can't do are take a written or driving test.
Since the DOL2Go program rolled out about a year ago the van has visited 46 communities and serviced more than 2,000 customers.
Customers can request a visit to their communities through the DOL's website.