The new DMV+ facility in Orland Hills handles everything a standard Illinois driver services office does — licenses, REAL IDs, road tests, registrations and title work — plus a set of expanded services, including business filings and administrative hearings, that Southland residents previously had to travel to downtown Chicago or Springfield to complete. The facility, located at 9291 W. 159th St., operates mostly by appointment, with two specific walk-in exceptions: license plate stickers and disability parking placards.
Introducing the Orland Hills DMV+: More Than Just Driver Services
The 8,700-square-foot facility is the Southland's first DMV+, a designation that combines traditional driver and vehicle services with offerings drawn from other Illinois Secretary of State departments. It replaces a temporary location at 18230 Orland Parkway in Orland Park, which closed permanently on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 5 p.m. The new site opened with regular hours beginning Monday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias described the expanded offerings in announcing the location: "This includes business services, administrative hearings, index services, and personnel services." Residents, he said, will "be able to take care of more of these needs right here in your own community, without having to drive to downtown Chicago or to Springfield."
The facility's arrival follows a period of uncertainty for the area. According to the Chicago Tribune, the state had paid Orland Township $1 per year to lease space at the township offices, but the township board voted 3-2 in July 2025 to cancel that lease after some members raised concerns about safety and parking. The temporary Orland Parkway facility filled the gap until the permanent Orland Hills site opened.
State Sen. Michael Hastings, who represents the area, called the opening "a win for Orland Hills and the surrounding communities," saying residents now have "a state-of-the-art facility where they can take care of their driver and vehicle needs while also accessing specialized Secretary of State resources closer to home."
Orland Hills DMV+ vs. Standard DMV: A Service Comparison
The practical difference between the Orland Hills DMV+ and a standard facility comes down to the "plus" services. Every driver and vehicle transaction you'd expect at a typical Illinois DMV is available here. What a standard office does not offer are the specialized functions that historically lived only in the state's flagship offices in Chicago and Springfield.
On the business side, the Secretary of State's office says its DMV+ program locations provide services including Certificates of Standing, Certified Copies, Corporation Filings, Expedited Service, LLC Filings, and Trademarks. That means a south-suburban business owner can, for example, file LLC paperwork or obtain a certificate of good standing without driving to the Loop. Administrative hearings — the formal process for contesting license suspensions and other Secretary of State actions — are also available at the DMV+ rather than only at the flagship centers.
Giannoulias's office also listed index services and personnel services among the offerings not available at the previous Orland Township facility. The news reports announcing the site did not detail the specific transactions included under those categories, and this article does not cover the documentation requirements for any of the specialized services — residents pursuing them should confirm details when scheduling.
The table below maps each service category to its availability at a standard DMV versus the Orland Hills DMV+, along with the access method reported for the new facility.
| Service Category | Specific Service | Standard DMV? | Orland Hills DMV+? | Appointment or Walk-in? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver & Vehicle | Driver's licenses, state IDs, REAL ID | Yes | Yes | Appointment |
| Driver & Vehicle | Road tests | Yes | Yes | Appointment |
| Driver & Vehicle | Vehicle registration renewals, license plate renewals | Yes | Yes | Appointment |
| Driver & Vehicle | License plate stickers | Yes | Yes | Walk-in |
| Driver & Vehicle | Disability parking placards | Yes | Yes | Walk-in |
| Driver & Vehicle | Plates and title work | Yes | Yes | Appointment |
| Expanded | Administrative hearings | No | Yes | Appointment |
| Expanded | Business services (corporation and LLC filings, trademarks, certificates of standing, certified copies, expedited service) | No | Yes | Appointment |
| Expanded | Index services | No | Yes | Appointment |
Two clarifications on the table: license plate stickers and disability parking placards are the specific walk-in exceptions at Orland Hills, while other driver and vehicle services are by appointment. And while personnel services were named in the Secretary of State's announcement as part of the DMV+ program, the available reports describe them as internal departmental functions rather than public-facing transactions, so residents should not assume they can conduct personnel-related business at the counter.
Planning Your Visit: Appointments and Walk-ins at Orland Hills DMV+
Appointments are scheduled through the Secretary of State's website by selecting "Schedule a DMV Appointment." Regular hours at the facility are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. The site offers easy access from 159th Street, near shopping and dining.
Once inside, the layout is designed to reduce the counter-hopping familiar to longtime DMV visitors. Employees at the facility are cross-trained in various services so customers can complete multiple transactions from a single counter, rather than being sent to different counters for different services. For a resident who needs, say, a REAL ID renewal and a business filing on the same trip, that consolidation is the facility's core convenience.
The walk-in exceptions matter for planning. If your errand is limited to a license plate sticker or a disability parking placard, you can visit during regular hours without booking anything. Everything else — from a road test to an administrative hearing — requires an appointment made in advance. This article does not provide real-time information on appointment availability, so check the scheduling system for current openings.
One boundary worth noting: this guide covers only the Orland Hills facility. Illinois operates other DMV+ locations, including business services offices in Aurora, Champaign, Lake Zurich and Melrose Park, but their specific offerings and access rules are not addressed here.
Making the Most of Your Orland Hills DMV+ Visit
Residents should check the required access method — appointment or walk-in — for their specific service at the Orland Hills DMV+ before visiting, especially for expanded services like business filings and administrative hearings that are not available at standard facilities. A successful visit to the Orland Hills DMV+ will be marked by completing the desired transaction without needing to reschedule or travel to a different facility. If your task appears in the appointment column above, book through the state's scheduling page first; if it's a sticker or disability placard, walk in during the posted hours and you're covered.
Sources
- Illinois opens new DMV+ facility in Orland Hills, replacing old site in Orland Park — CBS News
- New Orland Hills DMV offers expanded state services — Audacy
- Business Services — ILSOS
- New DMV+ Keeps Essential Services Close to Home | News List — Orlandpark
- New DMV+ Keeps Essential Services Close to Home in Orland Park — Suburban Chicagoland
- New kind of DMV opens in south suburbs, and it's different than typical facilities — NBC Chicago
- Permanent driver services facility opens in Orland Hills to replace temporary Orland Park location — Chicago Tribune
