Louisiana orders suspension for late fees amid system failures

LOUISIANA (KTAL/KMSS) — Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry declared a state of emergency for the Office of Motor Vehicles due to system failures.

On March 21, Landry issued an executive order extending the expiration date and waiving the delinquent fees of personal driver’s licenses (Class E) for up to 30 days past the expiration date on the license.

According to the emergency declaration, Louisiana OMV appliances and databases are more than 50 years old.

“We are grateful for Governor Landry’s support in modernizing our system. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these outages may have caused,” stated OMV Commissioner Dan Casey.

‘For the last several weeks, OMV’s system has been experiencing frequent outages due to its 50-year-old COBOL mainframe applications. The Office of Technology Services (OTS) and Unisys are actively investigating these outages to restore stability to the system but have not been able to identify the issue,’ details the Louisiana OMV.

The OMV system has not been purged since 2008 according to the declaration.

According to the news release, federal agencies, such as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and law enforcement in other states, will not recognize the extension. If residents plan to travel outside of Louisiana, they will need to have a valid, unexpired driver’s license or other acceptable form of identification, such as a passport, to board commercial flights.

“Residents may renew their driver’s license up to 180 days prior to expiration at an OMV field office or Public Tag Agent location. Eligible residents can renew their driver’s license or identification card online, at www.expresslane.org/renewdl, on the LA Wallet app, or by mail up to 90 days prior to expiration.”

OMV has collaborated with Governor Landry, his administration, and industry leaders to implement a ‘modern driver and vehicle system that adequately serves the residents of Louisiana.’

“We are close to finalizing a solution that will enhance efficiency and service quality. We appreciate your patience and will continue to provide updates as we move forward,” Commissioner Casey said.