Driver's license security features

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

I recently moved from NY to NJ and switched my driver's license over. When I received my new license in the mail I was a bit taken aback. It's thin and flimsy, the printing is so low resolution that the state shield looks pixellated, and the only "security feature" I can see is some half-assed reflective text over the front. This is after NJ made a big deal over switching license printing from in the DMV branch to an outside printing facility.

This is compared to my old NY license which had raised printing, high quality microprinting, and a hologram with my face and birthday. It's surprising to me how big the difference could be between different states. I would think some minimum security features would be required for licenses federally.

I'm also worried about trying to use this at a bar or liquor store out of state because I look young and get carded about half the time. This thing looks worse than fake IDs I've seen.

How do other states compare in terms of license quality/security? Are there any other states as bad as NJ?

[Scott5114]

The NJ license sample I saw when I looked it up on Google Images looks to be more or less the same format as as the ones used in TX, OK (the Real ID ones), and KS.

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

The NJ license sample I saw when I looked it up on Google Images looks to be more or less the same format as as the ones used in TX, OK (the Real ID ones), and KS.

It looks like Texas has a holographic feature which NJ doesn't have. It's not the format that looks fake but the overall feel of the card. It feels like thin laminated cardboard like a health insurance card. Not hard plastic like a debit card. My friend has the older version of the NJ license where "new jersey"  is printed in red instead of black, and it actually looks more legitimate than the new one. The old card is sturdier and it has more of a hologram on the front instead of just shiny printing. It's very confusing to me that they would outsource the printing outside DMV branches only to make the quality worse.

[jeffandnicole]

While I'm not 20 something anymore, most people looking at IDs are looking for two things: a picture that looks like you, and your MM/DD/YYYY.  Most locations that can scan IDs will do that. Clerks in liquor stores and bars are not experts in IDs. They're just doing the minimum required work.

Don't worry too much about it. Chances are you're not the first one with a NJ ID being checked by them.

[Scott5114]

The NJ license sample I saw when I looked it up on Google Images looks to be more or less the same format as as the ones used in TX, OK (the Real ID ones), and KS.

It looks like Texas has a holographic feature which NJ doesn't have. It's not the format that looks fake but the overall feel of the card. It feels like thin laminated cardboard like a health insurance card. Not hard plastic like a debit card. My friend has the older version of the NJ license where "new jersey"  is printed in red instead of black, and it actually looks more legitimate than the new one. The old card is sturdier and it has more of a hologram on the front instead of just shiny printing. It's very confusing to me that they would outsource the printing outside DMV branches only to make the quality worse.

The flexible plastic is more or less standard to ID cards with that visual format at well. And there are some states that are even more flexible than that (I never tried it because I didn't want to mess up someone else's license but I wouldn't be surprised if you could roll a Minnesota license up into a tube).

I believe the only state other than New York that uses a polycarbonate license with engraved text and images is Virginia. Most states don't go this route because it means it limits them to black and white photographs. This can make it difficult to discern facial features of license holders with darker skin.

In short, it's your old NY license that's weird, not your new NJ one.

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

The flexible plastic is more or less standard to ID cards with that visual format at well. And there are some states that are even more flexible than that (I never tried it because I didn't want to mess up someone else's license but I wouldn't be surprised if you could roll a Minnesota license up into a tube).

I believe the only state other than New York that uses a polycarbonate license with engraved text and images is Virginia. Most states don't go this route because it means it limits them to black and white photographs. This can make it difficult to discern facial features of license holders with darker skin.

In short, it's your old NY license that's weird, not your new NJ one.

That's all pretty interesting information. I think the complaint about the black and white photos is dubious considering that they just switched US passports to black and white photos, and passports in other countries have been B&W for many years.  I don't think the state department  would implement that if it was an issue.

I also stand by my feeling that the NJ license would be extremely easy to fake, versus the NY license which I think would be nearly impossible with the holographic part.

I suspect this is more about cost cutting measures. Despite my complaints about the NJ license and their DMV (which is pretty outdated and awful), the license is a lot cheaper, I paid $35 which I think is less than half what NY charged me to renew.

[vdeane]

Interesting about polycarbonate licences needing black and white photos.  When NY rolled that out, all the press releases were talking as if the black and white photo was a security feature in and of itself - not a consequence of the new material.

I'm not sure that comparison on cost is the best, though.  Replacing one because you've lost it or moved is cheaper than renewing.  I think it cost around $15-20.

[CtrlAltDel]

That's all pretty interesting information. I think the complaint about the black and white photos is dubious considering that they just switched US passports to black and white photos, and passports in other countries have been B&W for many years. 

Wait, what? Why? Seems a step backward.

[Scott5114]

That's all pretty interesting information. I think the complaint about the black and white photos is dubious considering that they just switched US passports to black and white photos, and passports in other countries have been B&W for many years.  I don't think the state department  would implement that if it was an issue.

I don't know if that's a complaint anyone has made officially, but it's been something I've had a problem with when making copies of driver licenses in real life. It was always fun getting nasty emails from accounting because they couldn't make out any details in the photo and I'm, like, what do you want me to do, go to the DMV with the patron and have them take a new photo?

[NoGoodNamesAvailable]

I don't know if that's a complaint anyone has made officially, but it's been something I've had a problem with when making copies of driver licenses in real life. It was always fun getting nasty emails from accounting because they couldn't make out any details in the photo and I'm, like, what do you want me to do, go to the DMV with the patron and have them take a new photo?

Actually when I was turning in my NY license to the NJ DMV the employee had to call her supervisor over because the scanner wasn't picking up my NY ID. They had to put a piece of paper behind the ID for it to scan properly. The difficulty of scanning might be an intentional feature to prevent counterfeiting.

[chrisdiaz]

I can definitely attest to moving to another state's DL - Moving from New York to South Carolina, I had a similar experience as OP. Except, in South Carolina, they actually still do print out your license in the DMV office right after you take your picture. However, SC does have a few security features, such as a laser etched crescent moon and palmetto tree, as well as the hologram.

I have to check ID's as part of my job, and honestly the part I look for (on SC ID's) is the long ID number at the bottom - on fakes, the county code that is embedded within it almost never matches up to what the county code should be.

[jeffandnicole]

The NJ Drivers license number is actually a very interesting alpha-numeric code, 15 digits long (longer than most states) in which every digit has representation and isn't made up.

The standard combination is:  S3427 28328 03814

If this was John Q Smith's Driver's License, this represents:
    Smith's last name is the first 5 digits.  The license will always begin with the person's last name initial (S).
    The middle 5 digits represents his first name and middle initial.
    The last 5 represent his birth month, birth year (born in March, 1981), and his eye color.

If the driver was a female, the birth month's first digit would be a 5 instead of a 0 (from Jan thru Sep) or a 6 instead of a 1 (for Oct, Nov & Dec).

Since it's entirely possibly for there to be two or more John Q Smith's born in March 1981 with the same eye color, the coding of digits 2 - 10 aren't fully set in stone, and allowances are made for such.  Same if the person doesn't have a middle name, fewer than the required number of letters in a name for the first or last name, etc.  But whoever came up with the combination certainly did have some fun with it, and decided early on not to use a SSN (since banned) or other random number generator.

Using that knowledge, someone checking IDs, especially in NJ, Philly, NYC and other areas that often see NJ licenses could first quickly look at the 1st digit to verify it matches the person's last name, then look at the first 4 digits in the last series of 5 numbers to verify it matches with the person's date of birth.  Someone good creating fake IDs would know to match that info up.  Someone bad at it wouldn't.  If it were me checking IDs, there could be 20 pieces of possible ways to look for a fake ID.  These 2 would be the most important to me.  I would probably learn a few other distinct clues.  If these pass, then the person gets to make their purchase.

Of course, local knowledge helps also. I mentioned my story in the past: The one time I did catch a fake ID:  The person didn't know the schools in the town he claimed to be from and said he went to school at.  That ID fake could've been 100% perfect, yet he still failed.