Audit of the Registry of Motor Vehicles

This is a Massachusetts State Auditor performance audit of the Registry of Motor Vehicles covering July 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016.

“In accordance with Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the Office of the State Auditor has conducted a performance audit of the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) for the period July 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016.”

Auditors reviewed RMV systems to see how well the agency handled licenses, disability parking placards, and revenue collection.

“In this performance audit, we assessed RMV’s Automated Licensing and Registration System (ALARS) to evaluate RMV’s administration of state driver’s licenses and disability parking placards and its collection of revenue.”

If placards are not controlled well, people who truly need accessible parking may lose access to those spaces.

“As a result, there is a higher-than-acceptable risk that these placards may be abused and deprive people with disabilities of needed parking.”

For residents, this affects access to disability parking, confidence that licenses are issued properly, and whether RMV can back up its financial records.

“RMV is also responsible for collecting fees for registrations, vehicle titles, drivers’ licenses, special plates, civil motor vehicle infractions, inspection stickers, and other miscellaneous items and remitting them to the Office of the State Treasurer.”

The auditor concluded RMV did not properly handle disability placards or license applications during the audit period, though it did properly scan original out-of-state documents.

“Does RMV properly process license applications?”

The auditor recommended stronger checks using death records, reapplication for permanent placards every five years, better data cleanup, and a better system for finding transaction documents.

“RMV should update its system or create a new system for locating documentation related to a particular date and service location.”

The findings point to risks of fraud, misuse of disability placards, and weak recordkeeping in a major state agency that millions of drivers rely on.

“Because these licenses appeared to have been issued to individuals who were attempting to obtain false identification, there is a significant risk that they could be used for malicious purposes (e.g., fraud).”

ALARS was RMV’s old core computer system for licenses, registrations, placards, fees, and other registry records.

“RMV’s mission-critical application, the Automated Licensing and Registration System (ALARS), was developed in the mid-1980s as RMV’s mainframe and database for all registry transactions.”