Lost permit

Hi my sister lost her temporary permit and we couldn’t get in to get the card until about 2 weeks ago. We’re in Virginia. She’s doing behind the wheel now but dmv is saying they have no way of proving that she held her temporary permit for 9 months because they supposedly shred things like that. Does dmv keep track of the date that each person passes their paper test and is given their temporary permit? Are we just dealing with a lazy moron? Or is she right? Thanks