When I lived in North Carolina a few years ago, it was common for local private companies to get a contract with the state to run offices that issue license plates, while only the state ran the offices that issue drivers licenses and everything else. The private companies are highly regulated. They can’t charge whatever price they want, and I’m sure they get the plates from the state. They really just handle the paperwork.
I personally had better experiences getting license plates than getting drivers licenses. But they are very different transactions, and issuing license plates seems much simpler to me. And I had good experiences getting a drivers license in smaller towns; the only time I waited for hours in an NC DMV was in a large city. And I would choose that experience again over the California DMV, or the Nevada DMV, but not the New Jersey DMV (which they call the MVC).
I personally had better experiences getting license plates than getting drivers licenses. But they are very different transactions, and issuing license plates seems much simpler to me. And I had good experiences getting a drivers license in smaller towns; the only time I waited for hours in an NC DMV was in a large city. And I would choose that experience again over the California DMV, or the Nevada DMV, but not the New Jersey DMV (which they call the MVC).