example drivers license barcode by state

For example, California driver’s license barcodes contain the state and organ donor status, while Alabama contains those two data points in its barcode plus thirteen others.

Within each license’s barcode, states decide what information is included for businesses and government entities to access.

And yet, as widely accepted as driver’s licenses are, they exist in siloes with characteristics that vary by state. Now, a driver’s license can be used to open bank accounts, buy age-controlled items and even satisfy ID requirements to vote in seventeen states. As more and more Americans obtained them, however, they became great tools for verifying personal details and physical attributes and evolved into the mainstay that they are today. The Transformation Of The American Driver’s LicenseĪn often-forgotten and little-known fact is that driver’s licenses were not originally intended to be an identity standard they were supposed to be proof of driving eligibility. REAL ID status can be achieved by presenting valid proof-of-identity documents, such as a valid birth certificate, passport or Social Security card, among other documents. For the vast number of people who engage in activities requiring them to enter federal facilities or board commercial domestic flights from time to time, this means they need to visit one of their state’s DMV offices to renew their license in person.

Example drivers license barcode by state