Audit: 1,900 Drivers’ Licenses Issued in Dead People’s Names

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker is questioning an audit that said more than 1,900 Massachusetts drivers’ licenses have been issued under the names of dead people.

A state audit released Thursday concluded the Registry of Motor Vehicles issued 1,905 drivers’ licenses to individuals after their dates of death.

State Auditor Suzanne Bump said the registry failed to properly use databases, including the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File, to deactivate licenses of people who have died and block individuals from obtaining identification under the names of deceased people.

Baker rejected the findings, telling reporters Thursday that “everybody on that list is alive.”

RMV spokeswoman Jacquelyn Goddard called the audit outdated and said the RMV uses the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File to determine if an individual is alive or dead.