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Virginia DMV reports Real ID surge, $143 million undesignated balance and plan to move mainframe to cloud
Summary
The Department of Motor Vehicles told the Senate committee it handled a surge in Real ID transactions, has a $143 million undesignated cash balance intended for modernization, and plans to migrate its mainframe to a cloud environment and launch a mobile ID in July.
Gerald Lackey, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, briefed the Senate Finance Committee on June 4 about recent operations, Real ID demand, and a multi‑year modernization program.
Lackey said DMV managed a substantial Real ID surge in April and May — transactions peaked near one million in April — and that statewide Real ID saturation stood at about 63.6% of the population. Average in‑office wait times during the surge were roughly 20–25 minutes, and the agency deployed mobile teams and extended appointment hours to manage demand.
On finances, Lackey said DMV is a special‑fund agency and reported about $143.0 million in an undesignated balance (a reserve or "savings" account). Planned draws include roughly $77.5 million for mainframe modernization, $30.6 million for headquarters renovation, and a $20 million cash reserve for contingencies.
Lackey described a modernization roadmap: a procurement with vendor Kyndryl (procured through VITA) will adapt a DMV‑oriented cloud platform (built initially for Arizona) with about 80% off‑the‑shelf code and roughly 20% Virginia customizations. DMVs across the Commonwealth and its partners will begin data migration and integration work in 2026–2027 and expect phased onboarding and testing in 2027 with a go‑live in 2028.
The department also plans a mobile ID launch in July that will support five initial use cases — ABC stores, lottery, elections, TSA, and law enforcement — and will integrate with Apple Wallet at launch and Samsung shortly after; Google Wallet integration is expected later.
Lackey said DMV will continue studies required by the legislature on decal elimination, the select‑office compensation model, and the mileage/mileage‑choice program; staff will return with recommendations. He said renovation options for DMV headquarters — including possible relocation or whole‑building plans — are under study and would be presented to the committee before changes are pursued.
