DMV computer system down Friday due to computer glitch, now fixed

Computer upgrades causing problems for DMV

Upgrades to the Kansas Division of Motor Vehicles computer system have caused some glitches for the Douglas County Treasurer’s Office, said Paula Gilchrist, treasurer.

“It’s been a really tough two weeks,” Gilchrist said.

The division is in the midst of a $40-million computer upgrade that will integrate driver’s license records with vehicle title and registration data.

The office was closed for a week in early May during the upgrade, and since re-opening, problems with the software have extended the time it takes to renew license plates for some residents, Gilchrist said.

They’ve been trying to work out the problems in daily conference calls with the Kansas Department of Revenue, but the upgrades “will take some patience,” Gilchrist said.

Gilchrist advises people to consider renewing their license plates online, which is an option for anyone with the same address and insurance company as last year. If you need to renew in person, Gilchrist said you can usually expect shorter waiting lines in the middle of the week.

The Kansas Division of Motor Vehicles was unable to process driver’s license applications or renewals Friday because of a hardware problem with the computer system, said Kansas Department of Revenue spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda.

The computer systems for all state motor vehicle offices were down at 7 a.m. but were fixed by the vendor by about 3:45 p.m.

Delbert Thomas, supervisor for the Douglas County service station in Lawrence, 1035 N. Third St., said people whose driver’s license expired today were still able to visit the office and receive an extension.

In April, the state system was down for two days after malfunctions with the computer server. The division is in the midst of a $40 million computer upgrade that will integrate driver’s license records with vehicle title and registration data. But Koranda said the current difficulties were not related to the upgrade and concerned a separate computer system.