Expect a Bureaucratic Nightmare when You Renew Your Driver's License Next Time
If you have an outstanding violation in any other state — even an unpaid speeding ticket from decades ago — you won't get your new license next time you go to renew. It's all thanks to an obscure provision the Congressional kleptocrats snuck into the military spending bill in 2005. Among other things, this bill creates a massive database by linking state driving databases together, so your state Motor Vehicles Department must check your driving record in all 50 states before you can renew.Jim Walsh, a resident of the state of Washington, found that out the hard way. He couldn't renew his license because computer records from Massachusetts revealed a 20-year-old unpaid speeding ticket. In fact, Jim had paid the ticket, but he couldn't produce a canceled check from 1988. Here's what he's had to go through to get the problem resolved.First, Jim called the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (MRMV) to see if their records indicated that he had NOT paid the ticket. After waiting for 90 minutes on hold, a rude clerk confirmed that unfortunate "fact." The clerk would not accept a second payment. He would have to send in another check to the county court that issued the ticket. Next, Jim contacted the appropriate county court in Massachusetts. A clerk helpfully provided instructions on how to pay the ticket a second time. After receiving Jim's duplicate payment, the county court sent a payment confirmation to the MRMV. Now it was time to call the MRMV again. After another extended period on hold, another rude clerk told Jim that the payment confirmation didn't match the required Department of Homeland Security format. To have the payment acknowledged in the required format, Jim would have to produce a court order issued by county judge where the ticket was issued. So he had to call the county clerk again. They told him it would be no problem to request a judge to issue the court order. However, Jim would need to make a personal appearance before a judge to request the court order. Since Massachusetts is 2,500 miles from Washington, he would have to pay several hundred dollars in travel expenses. When Liberty Magazine published this article about Jim, he still hadn't been able to renew his driver's license. The court clerk in Massachusetts suggested that it might be possible for Jim to hire a local attorney in lieu of a court order to satisfy the MRMV. But there are no guarantees.If you have any out-standing tickets, make sure you pay them before you try to renew your license the next time. And get proof that your tickets were paid, so you can avoid a similar nightmare.
If you have an outstanding violation in any other state — even an unpaid speeding ticket from decades ago — you won't get your new license next time you go to renew. It's all thanks to an obscure provision the Congressional kleptocrats snuck into the military spending bill in 2005. Among other things, this bill creates a massive database by linking state driving databases together, so your state Motor Vehicles Department must check your driving record in all 50 states before you can renew.Jim Walsh, a resident of the state of Washington, found that out the hard way. He couldn't renew his license because computer records from Massachusetts revealed a 20-year-old unpaid speeding ticket. In fact, Jim had paid the ticket, but he couldn't produce a canceled check from 1988. Here's what he's had to go through to get the problem resolved.First, Jim called the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (MRMV) to see if their records indicated that he had NOT paid the ticket. After waiting for 90 minutes on hold, a rude clerk confirmed that unfortunate "fact." The clerk would not accept a second payment. He would have to send in another check to the county court that issued the ticket. Next, Jim contacted the appropriate county court in Massachusetts. A clerk helpfully provided instructions on how to pay the ticket a second time. After receiving Jim's duplicate payment, the county court sent a payment confirmation to the MRMV. Now it was time to call the MRMV again. After another extended period on hold, another rude clerk told Jim that the payment confirmation didn't match the required Department of Homeland Security format. To have the payment acknowledged in the required format, Jim would have to produce a court order issued by county judge where the ticket was issued. So he had to call the county clerk again. They told him it would be no problem to request a judge to issue the court order. However, Jim would need to make a personal appearance before a judge to request the court order. Since Massachusetts is 2,500 miles from Washington, he would have to pay several hundred dollars in travel expenses. When Liberty Magazine published this article about Jim, he still hadn't been able to renew his driver's license. The court clerk in Massachusetts suggested that it might be possible for Jim to hire a local attorney in lieu of a court order to satisfy the MRMV. But there are no guarantees.If you have any out-standing tickets, make sure you pay them before you try to renew your license the next time. And get proof that your tickets were paid, so you can avoid a similar nightmare.
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