Virginia Governor Wants Investigation into Computer Failure

RICHMOND, Va. - Gov. Bob McDonnell says he wants an investigation into a massive computer failure that has crippled some government agencies for days.

McDonnell said Monday he wanted an independent, third party to perform an "operational and performance review" of the problems with the Virginia Information Technologies Agency.

Nearly 30 state agencies were affected by a major crash of the state's problem-plagued centralized computers last week. At least three agencies continued to experience problems on Monday including the Department of Motor Vehicles, which has been unable to process driver's licenses and identification cards.

Part of the review will include determining whether contractor Northrup Grumman should reimburse the state for lost business and productivity.

LINK: http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/general/news/news.asp?id=6034

Alternative Service Options
www.dmvNOW.com
automated telephone system, 1-888-337-4782

Your renewal notice indicates whether you are eligible to renew your license through another service option, such as the website or automated telephone service. Eligible customers can use PINs to update their records instantly, print temporary driver's licenses valid for 30 days, and receive the permanent driver's license in the mail, usually within a week. However, due to computer system problems, license production may be delayed. Please allow 15 days for delivery of your new license. Also, customers are encouraged to keep their temporary license with them in case it's needed during a traffic stop.

Expiration Dates
If your driver's license or ID card has an expiration date of August 25 through 30 and you must renew in person at a DMV office, when service is restored you will need to bring your birth certificate, passport, or other document that confirms you are a U.S. citizen or legally authorized by the federal government to be in the country. This requirement is Virginia law and cannot be waived by DMV. A list of available documents is available on the DMV website at the following link: https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/apps/documentbuilder/intro.aspx.

Placards for Virginians with Disabilities
While customers may still purchase temporary disabled parking placards from DMV offices, the computer outage may delay customers' receipt of the permanent placards in the mail. Therefore, the validity period of receipts for placards purchased during the outage will be extended until at least September 16.

Wait Times
DMV anticipates high customer volume after the outage is restored, and this week is traditionally the busiest week of the month. August is also one of the DMV's busiest months of the year. When the outage is resolved, DMV will be staffed to full capacity and will utilize part-time staff to meet the increased service demands.