N.C. DMV Has Outdated Records for About 80,000 Drivers

How would you feel if you had worked hard to get your license back after it was suspended, only to have the DMV deny a license renewal years later due to a glitch in its computer system? The DMV will sometimes arbitrarily tell drivers months or years later that they only just learned about a revocation and start the revocation at that point when it should have been long over.

Or if your license had been suspended, but the DMV wasn’t registering that suspension in its records? You might have been foregoing driving without the DMV crediting you for the period of revocation.

Those are the exact type of problems many people are facing as the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles reports that computer system problems have led to tens of thousands of driving records being incorrect.

The problems stem from a glitch that began in December 2015 when DMV personnel tried to make changes to the outdated computer system to comply with a new law, according to a report from WBTV. The glitch was not fixed until 2017, but by then, tens of thousands of incorrect and outdated records had been created. Since then, the DMV has not been able to resolve the issue for the thousands of drivers who have been affected, and the wrong records remain tied to their names in the system.

What Does This Mean for You?

This glitch has caused repercussions both for individuals and the general public, as outdated records can mean:

• Drivers who have earned back a onetime suspended license, such as for an old DWI charge, may find that the DMV has an outdated record showing their license as still being suspended.
• Drivers who have had their license suspended or revoked may find that the DMV does not have that information in their records and instead shows their license is still valid.

In a spreadsheet detailing the problems, the DMV also reported being unable to enter in the right penalty for out-of-state speeding convictions and experiencing issues in entering in wrong conviction types for some court actions, according to the WBTV report. In total, the DMV warned that 81,335 drivers’ records had been affected by the problems.

Need Help Resolving a DMV Records Issue?

If you are one of the tens of thousands of drivers who have been affected by this glitch, you can contact the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles at (919) 715-7000 or visit your local DMV office.

We also invite drivers who are experiencing problems due to DMV errors to contact the knowledgeable lawyers at Kurtz & Blum to learn about your legal rights. Our dedicated attorneys are available to talk through your problems in a free consultation. Call us at (919) 429-8532 or fill out our online contact form, and someone from our team will be in touch shortly.

Sources:

ABC11.com: Driving records are wrong or outdated for thousands; NC DMV explains why