DMV director urges $100M modernization, warns Real ID deadline will increase demand for services
May 06, 2025 | 2025 Legislative Meetings, South Carolina
This article was created by AI summarizing key points discussed. AI makes mistakes, so for full details and context, please refer to the video of the full meeting. Please report any errors so we can fix them. Report an error »
Kevin Shweto, director of the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles, told the House Education and Public Works Committee the DMV needs a modernized information system and additional resources to handle state population growth and complex, legally‑driven transactions.
Shweto said South Carolina’s population grew ‘‘from 4,000,000 to 5,300,000’’ during his tenure and that the DMV’s workforce has not kept pace. He described a roughly 33% annual turnover among DMV staff and said many employees are the primary earners in single‑parent households. He noted workforce demographics, saying ‘‘87% of my workforce is female. 51 percent of it is African American.’’
On technology, Shweto said the DMV operates on a legacy system called Phoenix written in COBOL and that modernization would cost about $100,000,000. He warned that when the current system goes down, ‘‘you can't get anything done’’ and that modernization is necessary to prevent broad outages affecting law‑enforcement visibility, identity services and customer transactions.
Real ID and demand: Shweto emphasized federal Real ID requirements and said only ‘‘about 60% of the state has a Real ID right now.’’ He urged residents to obtain Real ID credentials ahead of federal deadlines and said the agency expects line growth and increased demand as more people seek Real IDs and as implementation of other federal requirements proceeds.
Other operational notes: Shweto said the agency trains staff statewide with weekly training blocks and plans centralized issuance of secure cards in September; he recommended stronger biometric and mobile‑ID options over time. He also described the DMV’s broad responsibilities (titling, registration, identity verification and many legally mandated transactions) and said those duties make staffing and modern technology essential for public safety and fraud prevention.
Ending: Shweto asked lawmakers to support modernization funding and offered direct contact information for committee members to raise constituent DMV issues; committee members pledged continued work on the agency’s modernization request.
Shweto said South Carolina’s population grew ‘‘from 4,000,000 to 5,300,000’’ during his tenure and that the DMV’s workforce has not kept pace. He described a roughly 33% annual turnover among DMV staff and said many employees are the primary earners in single‑parent households. He noted workforce demographics, saying ‘‘87% of my workforce is female. 51 percent of it is African American.’’
On technology, Shweto said the DMV operates on a legacy system called Phoenix written in COBOL and that modernization would cost about $100,000,000. He warned that when the current system goes down, ‘‘you can't get anything done’’ and that modernization is necessary to prevent broad outages affecting law‑enforcement visibility, identity services and customer transactions.
Real ID and demand: Shweto emphasized federal Real ID requirements and said only ‘‘about 60% of the state has a Real ID right now.’’ He urged residents to obtain Real ID credentials ahead of federal deadlines and said the agency expects line growth and increased demand as more people seek Real IDs and as implementation of other federal requirements proceeds.
Other operational notes: Shweto said the agency trains staff statewide with weekly training blocks and plans centralized issuance of secure cards in September; he recommended stronger biometric and mobile‑ID options over time. He also described the DMV’s broad responsibilities (titling, registration, identity verification and many legally mandated transactions) and said those duties make staffing and modern technology essential for public safety and fraud prevention.
Ending: Shweto asked lawmakers to support modernization funding and offered direct contact information for committee members to raise constituent DMV issues; committee members pledged continued work on the agency’s modernization request.
View full meeting
This article is based on a recent meeting—watch the full video and explore the complete transcript for deeper insights into the discussion.
View full meeting