It's insane. My friend moved to Texas for work and he has had to wait 6 months for an appointment just to get his new driver's license. It's so dysfunctional. Unclear if it is by design or due to incompetence, maybe both
Depends on the location. The DPS license office near me is tiny, and there is a worker at the door limiting the number of people entering. As a result there is a perpetual line out into the parking lot. And this tiny office serves one of the state's most populous counties.
So you can very well try to walk in without an appointment and wait in line for hours, only to leave empty handed. Appointments are generally 4-6 months out unless you decide to drive hours to a DPS in a rural location, which is what I do.
The state is keenly aware of these issues. They just don't care.
Yep- they're busy as hell, but it's not bad as long as you get there before they open (one place I've seen people queued up an hour before they opened regularly)