The Registry of Motor Vehicles and state’s top prosecutor are warning of scams and fraudulent offers targeting residents without lawful proof of presence who will soon be eligible for a driver’s license.
A variety of “bad actors” may try to take advantage of people as a new law takes effect next month that allows people without legal immigration status to obtain a standard Massachusetts driver’s license, Registrar of Motor Vehicles Colleen Ogilvie said.
“This could be in the form of charging people for access to an appointment. This could be in the form of providing documents to them,” Ogilvie said Wednesday afternoon. “We want to be clear and let everybody know, making an appointment at the [RMV] is free. It does not cost anything to make an appointment. Getting any of our documents, other than a driver’s manual, are also free.”
The total cost to obtain a driver’s license is $115 so long as you pass the permit and road test on the first try. Each time a person fails a permit test, they need to pay another $30. And if they fail a road test, it costs $35 to retake it.
Residents applying under the law may come across unofficial third-party websites or “mimic sites” that advertise similar services but have no affiliation with the RMV, said Attorney General Andrea Campbell.
A state-maintained website has all the official information on the new law, including how to apply for a license.
Campbell said her office plans to ensure residents most vulnerable to fraud have the information and protection “they deserve.”
“This [law] is critical to allowing Massachusetts families the ability to drive safely to and from work, school, a doctor’s visit, and other essential appointments with a driver’s license ensuring the safety of all of us,” Campbell said.
Ogilvie said social media posts shared in some communities have promoted fraudulent fees for service center appointments at the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
Some scams have charged people over $500 for an RMV appointment, said Lenita Reason, executive director of the Brazilian Workers Center, one of the main advocacy groups behind the driver’s license law.
“People are offering to help people get in front of the line,” Reason said, adding that other scams offered to schedule an appointment before the July 1 start date of the law. “That’s why we have been telling the community to make sure that they go to the RMV website, that they get in touch with community organizations .. to make sure that they’re not going to be taken advantage of.”
The Registry of Motor Vehicles had to quickly prepare in the background over the past year after the Legislature overturned a veto of the law from former Gov. Charlie Baker and advocates defeated a Republican-led ballot campaign to scrap the measure.
Ogilvie previously told the Herald the RMV is in the process of hiring more than 200 employees — from front line service center workers to road testers — in an effort to have enough staff to keep up with demand under the new law.
The RMV expects 280,000 people to apply for a license within the first four years of the law, with the biggest demand in the first six months. And the Healey administration set aside $28 million in state funds to pay for the implementation of the driver’s license law.
Applicants will need to prove who they are to obtain a license by showing two documents that validate their identity and birth date. One of those documents can be a valid unexpired foreign passport or a valid unexpired consular identification card.
Advocates who pushed lawmakers to approve of the new law said it will boost road safety and allow all drivers to be insured.
“We waited 20 years to get this done and we finally did it,” said Chrystel Murrieta Ruiz, a political coordinator at 32BJ SEIU.