Computer Issue Prevented More Than 8,000 Vehicle Registration Renewal Notices from Going Out: DMV

The state Department of Motor Vehicles has discovered that registration renewal notices never went for more than 8,000 vehicles that were due in February because of issues associated with major work on the computer system.

The DMV is conducting and ongoing renew and said the discovery came as part of an analysis completed today.

It shows that about 8,340 owners of vehicles whose renewals were due in February have not renewed because registrations flagged for renewal in the computer system were not printed. 

The state agency is now sending a revised renewal notice and notifying the affected vehicle owners on Friday that they have until Sept. 30. 

Late fees associated with the overdue renewals will be waived. 

The DMV is also asking customers to carry the notice in the vehicle to show police and said, if you are stopped, the officer can take the letter into account when determining whether any enforcement action should be taken. 

The DMV has also notified law enforcement agencies and asked them to take the circumstances into account. A copy of the notice to law enforcement is also being mailed to the vehicle owners.

They said this issue affects less than 1 percent of more than 3 million registered vehicles.

"As part of our continuing analysis of our computer issues, we came across and verified today the extent of it. We are notifying these customers right away. I apologize for the inconvenience this causes the affected customers," DMV Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said in a statement.

"While we have made many corrections to our system since last February when this occurred, it is still unacceptable and we will include this as part of our discussions with 3M as we hold its feet to the fire to fix everything wrong with this system," Bzdyra said.

The DMV will be providing an envelope with the notice so you can return it directly to the registration unit for prompt service and avoid going to a DMV branch office.

The renewal cannot be done online.

If you have questions about your vehicle registration, call 860-263-5700 within the Hartford area or outside of Connecticut and 800-842-8222 elsewhere in Connecticut.

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