The statement said driver's license appointments through that afternoon were canceled throughout the state with some exceptions. The cancellations were initially supposed to last only until 11 a.m. Friday but were extended to 2 p.m. The only offices that would remain open for regular business hours were the Mega Centers in Garland, Fort Worth and Carrollton.
The DPS statement said customers were being notified by phone or email about the cancellations and that they are being given priority rebooking. This all stemmed from problems with a driver's license system upgrade that began over the Labor Day weekend. No security issues have been reported as a result of the upgrade and subsequent delays. The department said Friday that it was still working to fix the issue with the system upgrade. Affected services included renewing and replacing driver's licenses or ID cards, obtaining driving records and verifying eligibility.
“We apologize for the inconvenience,” the statement said.
Texas DPS also posted the statement on X, where people shared frustrations over the delays and cancellations.“We apologize for the inconvenience." – Texas Department of Public Safety
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“My [driver's license] will expire next week and I’ve been trying to get an appointment without any success,” one person wrote. “Earliest available appointments are showing up in 2024. What should we do till then? Can we have a temporary extension while you fix these issues?”
Another person wrote: “This is ridiculous. My appointment has been moved out by a month. How do I drive to work? You all should at least give a temporary permit to all renewals so that they can drive.”
One local resident named Eric Delegard told the Observer he scheduled a Sept. 7 appointment with DPS in early July, only to learn the night before that it had been canceled. He tried to reschedule his appointment but the next availability wasn't until Dec. 14, he said. “This puts all my travel plans in jeopardy,” he said. “This really is bureaucracy at its finest.”
The issues started as early as Tuesday when DPS notified customers that morning appointments would be canceled the following day. Then, on Wednesday, the agency announced that all appointments would be canceled. It also canceled all appointments on Thursday. Some police departments told WFAA that officers are aware of the situations with DPS and that they’ll be more lenient when it comes to expired driver’s licenses.
LATEST NEWS: Appointments Cancelled at Most Driver License Offices on Friday Until 11 A.M.
— Texas DPS (@TxDPS) September 8, 2023
AUSTIN – @TxDPS is cancelling driver license appts. for Friday, Sept. 8, 2023, from 7:30 to 11 a.m. at many driver license offices statewide due to the ongoing upgrade of the DL system. pic.twitter.com/AtODXb7sHD
The Dallas Police Department told the Observer that it was aware of the issue but has not given any directive to officers about how to handle it. The department said it’s ultimately up an officer's discretion whether to issue a ticket.
Several people told WFAA they went to their local DPS office to find that its systems were down. One 16-year-old named Christopher Williams said after months of practice driving, he arrived at the DPS office in Grand Prairie ready to take the driving test for his license but couldn’t due to the outage. Williams isn’t the only one.
Another 16-year-old named Miguel Vacquez told the station that he, too, had been practicing driving skills for months and was excited about obtaining a license, only to be faced with the delays at DPS.
