United States Driver's Licenses
The data stored on magnetic stripes on American driver's licenses is specified by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Not all states use a magnetic stripe on their driver's licenses. For a list of those that do, see the AAMVA list of US License Technology. The AAMVA site also contains a list of the Canadian jurisdictions that use magnetic stripes on their driver's licenses.
The following data is stored on track 1:
- Start Sentinel - one character (generally '%')
- State or Province - two characters
- City - variable length (seems to max out at 13 characters)
- Field Separator - one character (generally '^') (absent if city reaches max length)
- Last Name - variable length
- Field Separator - one character (generally '$')
- First Name - variable length
- Field Separator - one character (generally '$')
- Middle Name - variable length
- Field Separator - one character (generally '^')
- Home Address (house number and street) - variable length
- Field Separator - one character (generally '^')
- Unknown - variable length
- End Sentinel - one character (generally '?')
The following data is stored on track 2:
- ISO Issuer Identifier Number (IIN) - 6 digits
- Drivers License / Identification Number - 13 digits
- Field Separator — generally '='
- Expiration Date (YYMM) - 4 digits
- Birth date (YYYYMMDD) - 8 digits
- DL/ID# overflow- 5 digits (If no information is used then a field separator is used in this field.)
- End Sentinel - one character ('?')
The following data is stored on track 3:
- Template V#
- Security V#
- Postal Code
- Class
- Restrictions
- Endorsements
- Sex
- Height
- Weight
- Hair Color
- Eye Color
- ID#
- Reserved Space
- Error Correction
- Security
Note: Each state has a different selection of information they encode, not all states are the same. Note: Some states, such as Texas, have laws restricting drivers licenses being swiped under certain circumstances.
Read more about this topic: Magnetic Stripe Card
Famous quotes containing the words united states, united, states and/or driver:
“Ethnic life in the United States has become a sort of contest like baseball in which the blacks are always the Chicago Cubs.”
—Ishmael Reed (b. 1938)
“Next to the right of liberty, the right of property is the most important individual right guaranteed by the Constitution and the one which, united with that of personal liberty, has contributed more to the growth of civilization than any other institution established by the human race.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“An ... important antidote to American democracy is American gerontocracy. The positions of eminence and authority in Congress are allotted in accordance with length of service, regardless of quality. Superficial observers have long criticized the United States for making a fetish of youth. This is unfair. Uniquely among modern organs of public and private administration, its national legislature rewards senility.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)
“God help the horse, and the driver too!
And the people and beasts who have never a friend!
For the driver easily might have been you,
And the horse be me by a different end!
And nobody knows how their days will cease!
And the poor, when they’re old, have little of peace!”
—James Kenneth Stephens (1882–1950)