RMV Issued Nearly 2,000 Licenses To Dead People, Audit Says

BOSTON, MA – An audit of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles has revealed the agency issued 1,905 driver's licenses to people after they died, according to State Auditor Suzanne Bump. Bump's office found that 97 percent of the licenses were still listed as active as of January 2018.

In a statement Thursday, Bump alleged the RMV failed to properly use databases like the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File to identify and deactivate licenses of dead residents and ensure new licenses were not issued, a claim that the agency said is based on an "outdated" audit.

Bump called on the RMV to take action to prevent potentially fraudulent forms of identification from being issued.

"The failure to prevent individuals from obtaining identification under the names of deceased people creates a significant public safety risk to the Commonwealth," she said. "Fixing this problem must be a top priority for the RMV."

The audit also found that over 10,000 requests for disability parking placards in the names of dead people were processed. Bump urged the RMV to require drivers to reapply every five years, instead of automatically renewing the placards, and improve the process for replacing the placards. The agency also needs to improve its system for documenting revenue, according to Bump's office.

The RMV hit back at Bump's claims in a statement from spokeswoman Jacquelyn Goddard:

"The Registry of Motor Vehicles rejects the findings in the Auditor’s report, especially the false claim that the RMV is issuing licenses to 1,900 deceased individuals who the RMV has verified are alive. This audit is outdated, as it was conducted before the implementation of an entirely new software system which has improved management and tracking capabilities."

The audit of the Registry of Motor Vehicles is available here.

Top image via MassDOT