To prevent counterfeiting, security features include an embedded pattern on the license, one and two dimensional bar codes, and “purposeful errors” like misspellings.

 

In announcing the new driver’s licenses, Raymond Martinez, the chief administrator of New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), said that many of the latest security measures were so sensitive that he could not discuss them.

“There are overt things, but there are also covert things only a law enforcement official could see,” Martinez said.

In order to implement these new licenses, the state’s MVCs have had to undergo a $19 million upgrade to install new computer systems, hardware, and software. The state’s thirty-nine MVC agencies will now have sophisticated new software and facial-recognition capabilities to help combat identity fraud.

Once in place, the new systems will search MVC’s sixteen million records for any duplicate licenses to root out criminals or other suspicious individuals.

Paula Dow, the state’s Attorney General, said that the new driver’s licenses offer law enforcement a valuable tool to fight crime.

“Law enforcement needs it to stay one step ahead of criminals,” Dow said. “The only reason to have a fraudulent ID is to commit a crime, whether it is to get into a bar (underage) or for identity theft or, as we saw on Sept. 11, to help a terrorist.”

According to Dow having a forged identity document that appears valid is an essential starting point for a variety of criminal activities that range from gang activity, identity fraud, and even terrorism.

Drivers will still be able to renew their licenses through the mail or online, and those applying for a license will still need to provide six pieces of identification.

New Jersey recently implemented a new digital driver’s license in 2004, and the new driver’s licenses appear nearly identical.