Raleigh, N.C. — The state Division of Motor Vehicles is sending letters to 4,454 people who have driver's licenses but who the department's records show have incorrect Social Security numbers.

They have 60 days to verify their identities or risk losing their licenses. People who do not respond within the 60-day period will get a second letter and have a final 30 days to verify who they are or have their licenses canceled.

DMV Commissioner William C. Gore Jr. said Tuesday that the first round of letters started going out to motorists this month.

The verification effort follows a state audit last March that found nearly 27,000 licensed drivers' applications that did not match Social Security numbers. Many of those licenses had been issued prior to 2004, when the DMV linked to a federal Social Security data base to verify a driver's identification.

Many of the nearly 27,000 licenses were later found to be either expired or already revoked. The remaining 4,454 drivers who are getting letters now are a small percentage of the state's 6.3 million licensed drivers.

The audit came partly in response to criticism that the state DMV was not doing enough to prevent non-citizens from getting driver's licenses.

The General Assembly didn't start requiring a license applicant to prove he or she was in the country legally until last year.

As part of the "REAL ID" Act recently approved by Congress, driver's license holders will have to reaffirm their identity, home address and right to be in the country. The requirement starts late this year.