State awards $32 million contract for more secure driver's licenses

September 25, 2008 03:22 PM Email| Comments (0)| Text size – +

By Globe staff

The Patrick administration has awarded a $32 million contract to a Connecticut company to produce the next generation of driver's licenses, which are expected to be more secure against identity theft than the current model, officials said yesterday.

The company, L-1 Identity Systems, also has agreed to build a new plant in the state to manufacture the licenses for the Registry of Motor Vehicles, but as a security measure would not disclose where the plant would be built. The company currently has an office in Burlington.

A company spokeswoman said a "nominal'' number of new jobs will be generated by the Massachusetts contract, but said the company hopes to expand its businesses into the Northeast and probably would use the facility as its hub.

In a statement, Registrar of Motor Vehicles Rachel Kaprielian said the six-year contract will increase security measures on licenses and Massachusetts identity cards to fight identity theft and counterfeiting.

“This next generation license will include state-of-the-art technologies that guard against tampering and counterfeiting,'' she said. The company will produce 1.4 million new licenses and ID cards annually.

Currently, Massachusetts licenses are manufactured in Washington state. The new licenses are expected to come into use in September 2009, the RMV said.

An RMV spokeswoman, Ann Dufresne, said the contract also includes an upgrade for the computer network now used in the agency's branches to direct people to the right RMV employee.

In another development designed to push consumers out of the branches and into using on-line RMV services, the Registry will soon begin sending letters notifying people whose licenses are about to expire that they can renew on line.

Dufresne said the RMV routinely sends the letters out 45 days before expiration but will now notify those who do not have any outstanding fines or fees that they can avoid a trip to a branch.