Pennsylvania driver’s license and PennDOT-issued identification cards have been redesigned to prevent fraud.
They now feature an optically variable ghost portrait of the card owner and variable data that disappears depending on the viewing angle.
Among other security enhancements, they have a gold metallic tint visible under direct lighting and a customized security pattern.
At a news conference on Thursday at the Summerdale Driver License Center in East Pennsboro Township, PennDOT officials announced that the new cards that are currently being issued at a dozen or so of its license centers will be available at all of its license centers by mid-November.
The new design is part of periodic changes the department makes to its products to prevent fraud and protect against counterfeiting. Both standard and Real ID-compliant products will carry the new design and security features.
“The integrity of our products and services is important as they are used to allow permission, privilege or authority to carry out tasks and to be able to travel or enter a physical space,” said state Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary Kurt Myers at the news conference.
“Fraudulently obtaining and using a counterfeit product can have an adverse impact on highway safety and national security, so the need to deter and detect fraud is of paramount importance,” PennDOT’s Risk Management Director Brent Lawson said. “These new security features make it more difficult to produce a fraudulent product.”
It is not necessary to obtain one of the newly designed cards immediately although that option is available, said Kara Templeton, director of PennDOT’s Bureau of Driver Licensing. Both it and the current cards will remain acceptable through their expiration date.
PennDOT officials also announced they are exploring the concept of providing drivers with the option of getting a mobile driver’s license, or MDL, that can be stored on a smartphone in addition to having a physical card that can be lost or damaged.
But this technological advancement, which requires legislation to pass allowing its use, is still in the early stages in this state. Myers said it is being tested to ensure among other things, its interoperability with systems in other jurisdictions much like a credit card is.
“If you go to Maryland and you need to show your Pennsylvania driver’s license, you want it to work in Maryland,” he said. “If you got to Europe and you have to present it because you want to rent a car in France or Great Britain, you want to be able to be sure that it’s going to work so that interoperability is extremely important.”
Once a law passes to allow MDLs to be issued, Myers said PennDOT is hoping to be able to make them available soon after.
“This is a totally different product than what people think it would be,” he said. “Some people think oh, it’s just going to look just like a regular driver’s license and it’s going to be on my cell phone and that’s not at all the case.”
PennDOT’s REAL ID director Sarah Baker said MDLs allow for control over the personally identifiable information being shared. Addressing a concern that some might have about this technology, Myers said PennDOT will not collect information about when or where it is used. He said it is intended to be a convenient means of providing proof of identity and possessing a driver’s license.
“We are excited about the future of MDL for driver licensing and proof of identity to serve future needs of our residents,” Baker said. “We know the MDL offers safe, secure, trustable technologies and will allow for completely touchless transaction, selective information release and data protection and much more.”
She also took the opportunity at the news conference to remind people that by May 3 of next year, a REAL ID-compliant driver’s license, photo ID card or another form of federally acceptable identification such as a valid passport or military ID will be required to board a domestic commercial flight or enter a federal building or military installation.
Since March 2019 when they first became available, 1.8 million REAL IDs have been issued in Pennsylvania, she said. Several centers in the state, including the one in Summerdale, meet the Department of Homeland Security and Transportation Security Administration’s security standards to be able to issue REAL ID products over the counter.
For more information about REAL ID, visit the department’s website at penndot.pa.gov.
Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JanMurphy.
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