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Thousands of California drivers are being sent back to the DMV after officials said suspected cheating on written license exams triggered a sweeping investigation that could lead to criminal charges.
Earlier this month, the California Department of Motor Vehicles notified more than 11,000 licensed drivers that they must retake the written knowledge test within 30 days or risk losing their licenses.
After weeks of questions over the mass retest, DMV director Steve Gordon confirmed in a letter to State Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Dave Cortese that investigators believe some of the affected exams “may have been compromised.”
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He said the notices “were not issued randomly or based on a single data point.”
The DMV later revealed an internal review found patterns suggesting some applicants may have used “various cheating methods” to bypass the written testing process, providing the first public explanation for the “irregularities” the agency had previously cited.
Gordon said the DMV will not disclose how investigators identified the affected drivers because the investigation carries “potential criminal implications.”
He added that several cases have already been referred for prosecution, with more referrals expected.
The agency has not identified which law enforcement agencies are involved. A spokesperson for Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday the California Department of Justice could not confirm whether it had received any referrals from the DMV.
Gordon pointed to a similar DMV fraud case in 2017, when officials discovered 3,600 people had obtained driver’s licenses without passing the required exams.
That investigation ultimately led to 14 people being indicted on various felony charges.
The disclosure did little to ease concerns among state lawmakers who had demanded answers from the agency.
Strickland called the allegations “serious and concerning,” questioned whether written exams were properly monitored, and said Californians “deserve clear answers” about how the suspected cheating happened and what safeguards will be put in place to prevent it from happening again.
Cortese also said Gordon’s response left major questions unresolved, including whether this was the first time since 2017 that the DMV had uncovered similar irregularities and why drivers were being allowed to retake the exam if the agency believed crimes may have been committed.
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