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Database Glitch Leaves Ohio Residents Without Drivers' Licenses

Only a few licenses have been printed because the system has been up and down all week.

Ohio drivers have been grinding their gears since Monday, unable to receive drivers' licenses due to recurring technical difficulties within the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). 

According to Ohio.com, the BMV is making letters available that explain the bureau’s situation -- which is that the system has been up and down all week, so only a few drivers' licenses have been printed. 

“We are issuing letters to customers who cannot get their driver's license. That way, if someone is pulled over by law enforcement, they can let them know that it was on our end, so they wouldn’t be penalized,” Lindsay Bohrer, public information officer of the BMV, told Ohio.com. "The problem started when we updated the Problem Driver Pointer System by adding software called CDLIS, for Commercial Driver Licensing Information System, which impacted the issuance of drivers' licenses."

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The outage is having a serious effect on those who need licenses to drive commercial vehicles or for proper business identification, including a Barberton woman named Sonya McWilliams, age 30.

“I’m freaking out. What could have caused this?” McWilliams asked. “This was the second license bureau I visited. This time they told me don’t bother going anywhere else because it was down everywhere,” said McWilliams.

Workers are reportedly checking the system nearly every 15 minutes and repeatedly calling the state to find out when the system will be up and running again. The office supervisor said it appeared to be a state issue.