A computer system failure shut down Registry of Motor Vehicles offices across the state for more than two hours Friday morning, causing longer waits for people trying to make transactions in offices and online.
The system went down at 9:05 a.m., halting transactions and started operating again a little after 11:30 a.m., according to Massachusetts Department of Transportation spokesman Michael Verseckes
“The root of the cause is still being investigated,” Verseckes said Friday afternoon. He said there was an “interruption between MassDOT and the MassDOT data center in Chelsea,” but did not elaborate on what sparked the system shutdown.
“We absolutely apologize for the disruption,” Verseckes said. “We realize it’s hard for people to take time out of their days to come to the RMV.”
MassDOT Secretary Stephanie Pollack said in a statement Friday morning before service was restored that AAA customers, insurance agents, and auto dealers were also unable to conduct transactions.
Massachusetts AAA spokeswoman Mary Maguire said the situation posed an inconvenience for customers who use AAA to make transactions, such as renewing licenses or registrations, but that in “the big picture, it’s just a bump in the road.”
“From time to time, there are system-wide issues,” Maguire said.
At 2 p.m. Friday, business at the RMV office near Haymarket Square was running smoothly, according to Jesenia Cortes. The 22-year-old from Roxbury had just finished her driving permit test and exited the RMV, thrilled she had passed. She said the process took about an hour.
She said people inside had told her the office was crowded in the morning, but by the time she arrived, she said, the waits were not unusually long.
Sara DiNatale can be reached at sara.dinatale@globe.com. Rebecca Fiore can be reached atrebecca.fiore@globe.com.