Minnesota drivers mistakenly flagged for out of state violations

In the last year, Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services has received more than 80 letters from drivers refuting the suspension or denial of their licenses because they were mistakenly identified as having out of state violations.

The records reviewed by 5 INVESTIGATES date back to the October 2018 launch of a new computer system to handle the processing of drivers licenses in Minnesota.

Lois Love, 76, of Anoka had submitted an annual vision report to renew her driver’s license when she received a letter in the mail from DVS in July titled "Problem with driving record in another state."

The letter stated her application to renew her license was being denied because of a problem with her driving record in Texas.

"I just couldn’t believe that," Love said.

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The lifelong Minnesotan says she’s never held a license in Texas and had never even visited the state. She feared the denial by DVS could be related to identity theft.

"You hear a lot of fraud going on," Love said. "Is this part of that problem?"

Love said she was unable to get through to anyone with Minnesota DVS over the phone, but after days of calling and submitting an online complaint, the Texas Department of Public Safety sent her a letter that cleared up the mystery.

The driver with problems in Texas was Louis Love and he shared the same birthday with Lois Love.

"Just one letter in my first name which was a ‘U’ which I do not have," Love said. "They shouldn’t have even sent the letter out to begin with."

Despite the obvious mistake, Love said she struggled at first to get the problem resolved when she took the letter from Texas to her local DVS office and later called to make sure the central office had processed the letter.

"(They said) they had not received it due to the fact that they’re a year behind in processing all of their paperwork," Love said.

The Department of Public Safety, which includes DVS, declined requests for an interview, but later told 5 INVESTIGATES that Love’s driving privileges had been confirmed. Love says she received her renewed license about a month later in August.

DPS says it relies on a national program – the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators Problem Driver Pointer System – to identify drivers with unresolved violations out of state, but a spokesperson said DPS is prohibited by law from discussing Love’s specific case.

Since Minnesota paid $26 million to FAST Enterprises to revamp the system that processes driver’s licenses in October 2018, 5 INVESTIGATES found DVS has received 83 "no match" letters from other states, proving drivers had been mistakenly flagged.

Over that same time, more than 11,000 people in Minnesota had been identified as having problems with their driving record in another state.

If someone is flagged with an out of state problem while attempting to get or renew a driver’s license in person, DPS says the licensing agent can contact DVS for a further review. In May, DPS said it started allowing agents to use temporary overrides on out of state holds in cases where they suspect a "false match."

Love says she wasn’t afforded the same opportunity.

"(The agent) says ‘Well, make sure you have that letter from Texas on you at all times, if you ever get pulled over,’" Love said. "I think they have a big problem and I don’t think they’re going to be able to solve it."