MNLARS improving, officials say, but lawmakers continue to vent frustration

Nearly a year-and-a-half after its disastrous launch in July 2017, the state’s new license and registration system is making big strides toward full functionality, state officials told a panel of House and Senate lawmakers Tuesday.

But the system, called MNLARS, still isn’t all the way there. More improvements are in the offing, officials from Department of Public Safety and MN.IT told the MNLARS Steering Committee, but lawmakers again vented their frustration over the bungled rollout of a system critical to drivers and deputy registrars across the state.

Rep. Paul Torkelson, chair of the MNLARS Steering Committee, comments Dec. 18 during testimony on the status of the driver and vehicle registration system fixes. Photo by Paul Battaglia

“Eighteen months,” said Rep. Paul Torkelson (R-Hanska), co-chair of the committee. “Are we more than halfway to the end of this story? Or do we have another 18 months to go?”

[WATCH DPS and MN.IT officials present quarterly MNLARS update]

MNLARS has been a huge headache for deputy registrars, auto dealers and vehicle owners since the program launched last year full of major technological defects that led to a huge backlog in unissued titles and difficulties in completing simple tasks like issuing license tabs and plates.

Officials now say they have worked through the backlog and that additional system updates and improved functionality are due early next year.

[MORE See the full December quarterly MNLARS report]