Oklahoma DPS Says Computer Issues Causing Recent Slowdowns & Outages Is Fixed

The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) said computer issues that have caused recently slowdowns and total outages has been fixed.

For months, News 9 has reported and spoke to many Oklahomans who have struggled with getting an appointment.

DPS spokeswoman, Sarah Stewart, said they’ve worked with the Oklahoma Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES) and the system vendor (IDEMIA) to discover the problem.

“There are a lot of reports that are being run throughout the day on the business that is being conducted by DPS and tag agents,” said Stewart. “The volume of those reports was basically bogging down the system.”

To fix the problem, DPS officials said the daily reports now are being conducted in a new place.

The move has freed up vital computer power, according to officials.

DPS reports since March 1, the ID system has been performing at an overall 95% efficiency rate.

“The vendor realized this, OMES realized this and got this report running moved to another area so that it is not bogging down the part of the system that we are using to conduct business every day,” said Stewart.

Joshua Benjamin-Baker walked out of a DPS office Friday feeling like a million dollars after he said he and his family finally have Oklahoma ID’s.

“We booked an appointment in January,” said Benjamin-Baker. “This was the earliest we could get in. It took us a week to book it.”

The family moved to Oklahoma from Arizona in December and never has this process been such a mess, Benjamin-Baker said.

“It was a nightmare because we started trying in December and didn’t get it until mid or early January,” said Benjamin-Baker.

DPS officials said there is still the issue of a two-month backlog of appointments to deal with. They hope state legislature takes action this session and funds an additional 44 driver’s license examiner positions to help.

DPS has already added evening and weekend appointments to help catch up on the backlog.

If you are in need of a REAL ID, the deadline is October 1.