My Safer Wallet

I recently went to the California Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my driver license.  It was a relatively painless process, and at the end of it, I received a brand new California driver license.

California began rolling out newly redesigned driver licenses and identification cards in late 2010, the first major update in nearly a decade.  The DMV stated that the point of the redesign was to make them one of the most secure identification documents in the country.

The information contained in the driver license and ID cards remains the same, but the it’s presented in a way that’s designed to make it easier to read.  But more importantly, the cards also contain a host of security features designed to protect against fraud, tampering and counterfeiting.  The DMV explains:

Some of the new features include…the cardholder’s date of birth and signatures that can be felt by touch; images that can be seen only with the use of ultraviolet lights; a 2D bar code on the back of the card that replicates and verifies only the information on the front of the card (similar to the current magnetic stripe); and a laser perforation outline of the California Brown Bear, which can be seen from the front of the card when a flashlight is pressed against the back of the card.

It’s taken me a bit of time to adjust to the new look and feel of my license.  But California has designated driver licenses and state-issued ID cards as the primary identification documents, so these safeguards are of critical importance for residents of our state.  I made sure to scan it and store it in my Lemon Wallet, for an extra dose of security.

Let us know if your state is also doing something innovative to protect the security of your identity documents.