Mainers urged to use caution when searching for driver’s license renewal information online
AUGUSTA — Despite clear and repeated information about the services provided by Drivers-Licenses.org, Mainers have been calling state officials and complaining when a new, renewed or reinstated license fails to show up in the mail after they think that's what they paid $16.98 to receive.
In a press release Wednesday, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said that residents have used that website to attempt to renew their driver's license online. After providing the website with personal information and being charged a fee, users receive information on how to renew their licenses. A new license never shows up and it never will.
Raphaelle Silver, director of communications with the Maine Secretary of State's Office, said Wednesday that dozens of calls have been received complaining about the website. In today's press release, the agency said that the drivers-licenses.org/Maine website is not associated with either the Maine Secretary of State or the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
"The website correctly states that it is not a government agency, nor is it associated with any government agency. However, the form of the website and the way the information is presented may create the impression that this is an official government website," said Dunlap in the release.
"This isn't the only website like it out there, but it's the one we've been getting the most calls about," said Silver. "It's my understanding that many of the callers are senior citizens."
Silver said she is unsure what the personal information that users furnish is being used for, and that the complaints and other information have been forwarded to the Maine Attorney General's Office.
She said what typically happens is someone uses an online search engine and enters "rapid renewal" or "maine drivers license renewal" in the query field and the search engine comes up with a variety of options, including the Maine BMV website, drivers-licenses.org, dmv.org, and other information-only websites.
Residents seeking to renew a driver's license online through the state's Rapid Renewal service are reminded to enter the website address, or url, (http://www.maine.gov/online/bmv/dlr/) directly into the address bar on a web browser and not into a search engine bar. Entering the address in a search engine will not bring you to the website, but rather give you other website options, or an error.
All of the information someone needs to obtain, renew, replace or reinstate a driver's license, to obtain a learner's permit or ID card, or to make a change of address or name is available for free online at the BMV's website. The BMV also offers the Rapid Renewal service for driver's licenses and ID cards, as well as vehicle and trailer registrations, among other online services.
Information is also available at local BMV offices and at town offices across the state.
Additional links:
• Obtaining a Maine driver's license or non-driver identification card
