Driver's License in The United States - Use As Identification and Proof of Age

Use As Identification and Proof of Age

Driver's licenses issued in the United States have a number or alphanumeric code issued by the issuing state's Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent), usually show a photograph of the bearer, as well as a copy of his or her signature, the address of his or her primary residence, the type or class of license, restrictions and/or endorsements (if any), the physical characteristics of the bearer (such as height, weight, hair color, eye color, and sometimes even skin color), and birth date. No two driver's license numbers issued by a state are alike. Social Security numbers are now prohibited by federal law from appearing on new driver's licenses, due to identity theft concerns. In most states, to be compliant with AAMVA standards, the orientation of a driver's license for persons under the age of 21 is vertical while a driver's license for those over the age of 21 is horizontal. Since the driver's license is often used a proof of a person's age, the difference in orientation makes it easy to determine that a person is legally allowed to purchase or consume alcohol (the drinking age in all US states is 21). Most states require that when a driver establishes residence in a state, he or she must obtain a license issued by that state within a certain time frame.

Because there is no national identity card in the United States, the driver's license is often used as the de facto equivalent for completion of many common business and governmental transactions. As a result, driver's licenses are the focus of many kinds of identity theft. Driver's licenses were not always identification cards. In many states, driver's licenses did not even have a photograph well into the 1980s. Activism by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization for the use of photo ID age verification in conjunction with increasing the drinking age to 21 in order to reduce underage drinking led to photographs being added to all state licenses. New York and Tennessee were the last states to add photos in 1986. However, New Jersey later allowed drivers to get non-photo licenses; this was later revoked. Vermont license holders have the option of receiving a non-photo license. All Tennessee drivers aged 60 years of age or older have the option of a non-photo drivers license. Thirteen states allow the option of a non-photo drivers license for reasons of religious belief: Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Later additions varied from state to state, and have included fingerprints, bar codes, magnetic strips, social security numbers and tamper-proof features, most of which were added to prevent identity theft and to curb the use of fake IDs. States have now slowly been converting to digitized driver's licenses, which incorporate holograms and bar codes to prevent forgery.