MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is committed to rolling out a new app for hunting and fishing licenses, despite an auditor’s report this week that the agency is not prepared to begin phasing in its modernized outdoor licensing system.

The DNR has said it would unveil a new app this spring, the first phase in the planned rollout of a new electronic licensing system (ELS). Like the current system, the new platform would handle millions of transactions every year for Minnesotans’ outdoor activities.

The Office of the Legislative Auditor’s report, released April 8, singled out several “ongoing concerns” about the agency’s plans for the new ELS, which is already more than a year overdue.

Among the worries: The DNR and its state partner, Minnesota IT Services (MNIT), have yet to finalize their deal with the vendor developing the platform. Also, statutory changes made to accommodate new features, like electronic outdoor permits, might not align with the phased approach.

Auditors also said that by sticking to the spring timeline for the hunting and fishing app, the DNR would risk “significantly compressing or cutting necessary launch preparation,” such as troubleshooting 11th-hour software releases and updates.

“We are just trying to say that, if you’re going to implement sooner than later, from what we are seeing, the Department of Natural Resources is not ready,” said Deputy Legislative Auditor Lori Leysen told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

The audit, sent to DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen and MNIT Commissioner Jon Eichten, reported that PayIt, the private vendor building the new system, appeared behind on its work, too.

“Not only had PayIt not met critical success criteria of addressing 75 percent of the highest priority bugs and implementation tasks as of February 27, less than half of those items that could be tested by DNR and MNIT had passed quality assurance testing,” the report stated.

In mid-February, DNR’s project lead Kelly Straka told the Star Tribune that the new ELS would debut with a new hunting and fishing app this spring, with the exact date to be determined.

Straka, who also runs the DNR’s fish and wildlife division, was slightly more exact after the audit’s release. The new ELS will launch as planned but “some time” after the Minnesota fishing opener May 9.

“We feel confident that we are making significant progress on the success criteria needed for the first phase of the launch with the hunting and fishing module,” Straka said. “Until launch of the new system, nothing will change for those buying hunting and fishing licenses or registering recreational vehicles and watercraft.”

An upgrade for title and registration for watercraft and recreational vehicles is part of a second phase of the new ELS, scheduled to begin later this year.

Modernizing the ELS is overdue by more than a year, but it’s a massive undertaking. The refresh affects a 25-year-old system that the DNR says is outdated. User surveys have said as much, too. The platform handles licensing for millions of anglers and hunters, and registration for more than a million boaters and off-highway vehicle users. In 2024, there were more than 2.7 million licenses bought across all outdoor activities in Minnesota.

Currently, the ELS also involves about 170 deputy registrars and 1,500 licensing agents at places such as bait and sports stores and other places licenses are processed.

The scale of the system is part of the reason for the delay, Straka said in mid-February when the DNR announced its spring timeline. The phased approach was adopted to account for the size and complexities of the undertaking.

“I think that we have learned a lot along the way that has necessitated we spend more time on this, to dive deeper into issues, to make sure we’re in compliance with every statute, every rule,” she said in February.

Other concerns loom

Auditors are also concerned about the lack of a final, detailed service deal with PayIt because of “multiple delays and implementation challenges.” Auditors recommended the DNR and MNIT complete an agreement with the vendor before the new system goes live. Both agencies responded that the deal will be completed by April 30.

“The ELS will not launch prior to an [an agreement] being in place,” Straka added.

The DNR and MNIT originally contracted with Sovereign Sportsman Solutions (S3) in April 2023 to help produce a new, mobile-friendly ELS.

PayIt, a Kansas City, Mo., firm that develops cloud-based payment platforms for state and local governments, acquired S3 later that spring.

So far, the DNR has paid $300,000 to PayIt to develop a new mobile app. Once the system goes live, PayIt will be paid for each transaction: 75 cents per hunting and fishing license transaction and $1.24 for recreational vehicle titling and registration transactions, according to the DNR.

Different state sources have helped pay for the ELS project. In 2024, the Legislature allocated $2.6 million. The DNR and MNIT have spent about $1.63 million of that allotment so far and about $4.2 million total. They estimate about $5.2 million in total cost. The DNR originally projected spending $3.5 million on the project through June 2025.

“The longer the project continues, the more costs will increase and may exceed this estimate,” auditors said in the report.

Auditors also are concerned about statutory changes made in 2024 contingent on a new, complete ELS going live. The law allowing change from physical paper or stickers to electronic licenses and permits for Minnesotans now might not align with an ELS upgraded in stages, said IT auditor Joe Sass, who led the project’s review.

For example, the DNR might be stuck issuing physical snowmobile trail pass stickers until new system updates take effect that recognize the legal shift to new electronic passes.

“Our concern is really, what statutory changes are effective [in a phased-in ELS]? What’s legal and enforceable?” he added. “And, for the public, what do they need to do to remain in compliance with whatever the statutes and requirements have to be?”

Auditors also see trouble in adding a new system for hunting and fishing while an old system for watercraft and recreational vehicles and other forms of recreation waits for its upgrade.

“Staff will need to manage separate platforms and maintain overlapping processes,” they stated in the report. “This structure will increase potential for errors, inefficiencies … and possible user confusion or other issues.”

The DNR and MNIT will have a support plan in place to reduce issues that could occur, Straka said.

“We do acknowledge that the legacy ELS system presents some risks due to its age, but we are working diligently to mitigate those risks,” she said.

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