CONNECT COMMENT EMAIL MORE Your Florida driver's license and ID is the most important card in your wallet. It is a tangible representation of who you are and is used countlessly throughout your lifetime – when you open a bank account, go to the doctor, travel or buy a house. This card is indispensable. And it just got safer, smarter and far more valuable.
For the first time in more than a decade, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) is issuing a new driver's license and ID card at all service centers throughout Florida and online. Here are the three most important things you need to know about Florida’s new credential. It’s the most secure, over-the-counter credential on the market today. DHSMV worked alongside law enforcement to make sure the design of the new credential will keep your information secure. That security is important.
It ensures that your credential is verifiable and accurate and that you are the only one carrying it. Florida’s new credential has nearly double the number of security features as the previous credential. It incorporates the most up-to-date technology to ward off counterfeiters, protect your identity and make your new credential more difficult to duplicate.
It’s five cards in one. Your new credential is the most versatile card in your wallet. Its value has gone beyond just verifying your identity and can now act as your Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) lifetime sportsman’s, boater, freshwater, saltwater or hunting license. Additional designations, such as veteran, organ donor, deaf/hard of hearing and insulin dependent, can allow your credential to display important, and potentially life-saving, information. It’s your information – protect it! Getting a new credential is exciting! It can represent new experiences and life changes.
Florida’s new driver's license or ID card is secure, but it is up to you to protect the personal identifying information on that credential. Share it only with those you trust, which should not include your social media followers. Protect the information like you would your life.
If you don’t, someone might start living theirs at your expense. Florida’s new credential brings with it enhanced security features and convenient designations, but it remains the gold-star credential. Since 2010, Florida’s driver's license and ID card have been compliant with the Federal REAL ID Act, a nationwide effort to improve the integrity and security of your credential.
Without the gold star, you may face restrictions in the future. Take this opportunity to visit your local service center to become compliant, protect your identity and make your new credential your official form of identification nationwide. DHSMV is committed to protecting your identity and maintaining the highest level of security for all Floridians, starting with your driver's license and ID card. While the previous credential will still be in use alongside the new credential until they are replaced or phased out, I encourage you to upgrade your driver's license or ID card now. Doing so means that you are protecting your personal information, therefore protecting your identity. To learn more about Florida’s new credential and how to obtain it, visit www.flhsmv.gov/newDL.
Rhodes is executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Guest commentaries A guest commentary can be 600 words or less on a topical subject.
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By Divya Kumar and Samantha Putterman, Tampa Bay Times A new look is coming to Florida driver's licenses and ID cards with new security measures. Starting in August, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will issue new IDs that will include security features designed to crack down on the production of fake driver's licenses. The new licenses will not be immediately available in Polk County and drivers will receive them as their current licenses expire. 'This is the most secure over-the-counter credential available,' said spokeswoman Alexis Bakofsky.
Special Drivers License To Fly
'We want customers to know that it has double the number of security features to try to combat counterfeit and driver's license fraud.' Law enforcement officials and tax collectors from across the state were involved with the redesign process, she said. The colorful new cards include ultraviolet ink and features only visible if viewed under UV light. The subject's photo will also be printed with a transparent background and appear in four places on the card.
Chris Rudolph, Polk County’s chief deputy tax collector, said drivers do not have to make a special trip to the Tax Collector’s Office unless their license is expiring. “If you’re in possession of a valid driver’s license that has not expired, you don’t need a new license,” Rudolph said. Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano said the licenses will be tough to replicate. “The person’s picture will be on it in four different locations,” Fasano said.
Fasano said the problem of fake IDs is one he's had to deal with in his jurisdiction. 'It wasn't long ago that the (Pasco County Sheriff's Office) had a press conference that I was at that we had some guy selling driver's licenses right over the Internet,' he said. The new IDs will also include features to make it easy to identify what type of license it is and some of the special privileges of the license holder:. Each card will have a different colored header to designate what type of license it is.
Commercial driver's licenses will be blue; standard driver's licenses will be green; identification cards will be red; and learner's licenses will be orange. Floridians under the age of 21 will have a red box on the front of their licenses that will list the date of their 21st birthday. The new IDs will also include other designations such as lifetime boating and hunting licenses; freshwater and saltwater fishing licenses; that identify military veterans; and list medical conditions such as hard of hearing and insulin dependency; and, of course, whether the holder is an organ donor.
Adding those designations, with the exception of developmental disabilities and organ donors, will add $1 for each designation when the card is renewed or $2 when it's replaced. 'What they're trying to do, and I think it's a great idea, is have everything incorporated on your license,' Fasano said. Those designations could benefit drivers, he said, such as those who are deaf. A driver who is pulled over because they didn't hear an emergency vehicle's sirens could prove they're hearing impaired. Those classified as sexual predators under Florida law will have the words 'sexual predator' printed in blue letters on the front of the license.
Those classified as sexual offenders will have the number of the state statute printed on their license: '943.0435 F.S.' The front of the card shows a pastel-colored rendering of the Florida state seal and a large orange 'FL' in the background. On the back a light blue image of the state, and the word 'Florida' and '1845,' the year the state became the nation's 27th, is printed atop ocean waves. New Florida drivers license and ID cards The new licenses will only be available in certain counties starting in August (none in the Tampa Bay area as of yet) as the new printing machines are rolled out across the state.
However, the new design should be available in the bay area, across the state and online by December. Bakofsky said residents should keep checking recommends checking the agency's website at www.flhsmv.gov/ to find out when the new licenses are available in their areas.
All current Florida driver's licenses and ID cards will remain valid until they expire. Times staff writer Josh Solomon and Ledger reporter John Chambliss contributed to this article.
Florida Temporary Drivers License
NOT COMPLIANT Select a state: NOTE: For states/territories that are not compliant and do not have an extension, REAL ID enforcement begins on February 5, 2018. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on December 20, 2013 a phased enforcement plan for the REAL ID Act (the Act), as passed by Congress, that will implement the Act in a measured, fair, and responsible way. Secure driver's licenses and identification documents are a vital component of our national security framework. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, enacted the 9/11 Commission’s recommendation that the Federal Government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver's licenses.” The Act established minimum security standards for license issuance and production and prohibits Federal agencies from accepting for certain purposes driver’s licenses and identification cards from states not meeting the Act’s minimum standards.
The purposes covered by the Act are: accessing Federal facilities, entering nuclear power plants, and, no sooner than 2016, boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft. DHS is committed to enforcing the REAL ID Act in accordance with the phased enforcement schedule and regulatory timeframes and is not inclined to grant additional extensions to any states that are not both committed to achieving full compliance and making substantial and documented progress in satisfying any unmet requirements. It has been 12 years since the REAL ID Act was passed and half of all the states have already met the REAL ID minimum standards. It is time that the remaining jurisdictions turn their commitments to secure identification into action. Description and Schedule of Enforcement Phases The following enforcement measures are cumulative, with measures in each phase remaining in effect through successive phases. Each phase will begin with a 3-month period where agencies will provide notice to individuals attempting to use driver’s licenses or identification cards from noncompliant states but still allow access. After this period is over, agencies will no longer accept such identification for entry to Federal facilities, and individuals will need to follow the agency’s alternate procedures (to be made available by the agency).
Phase 1: Restricted areas (i.e., areas accessible by agency personnel, contractors, and their guests) for DHS’s Nebraska Avenue Complex (NAC) headquarters. Phase 2: Restricted areas for all Federal facilities and nuclear power plants. Phase 3: Semi-restricted areas (i.e., areas available to the general public but subject to ID-based access control) for most Federal facilities (subject to limitations described in the next section). Access to Federal facilities will continue to be allowed for purposes of applying for or receiving Federal benefits. Phase 4: Boarding federally regulated commercial aircraft.
For more information on Facility Security Level, please see the. Limitations Access for activities directly relating to safety and health or life preserving services, to law enforcement, and to constitutionally protected activities, including legal and investigative proceedings will not be affected. Existing agency policies will still apply. The Act does not require individuals to present identification where it is not currently required to access a Federal facility (such as to enter the public areas of the Smithsonian) nor does it prohibit an agency from accepting other forms of identity documents other than documents from non-compliant states (such as a U.S.
Passport or passport card). The Act’s prohibitions do not affect other uses of driver’s licenses or identification cards – including licenses and cards from noncompliant states – unrelated to official purposes as defined in the Act. For example, the Act does not apply to voting, registering to vote, or for applying for or receiving Federal benefits. For more information, please contact the REAL ID Program Office.
Additional Information.
How to find a missing file. “We want customers to know that it has double the number of security features to try to combat counterfeit and driver’s license fraud.” By Divya Kumar and Samantha Putterman Tampa Bay Times A new look is coming to Florida driver’s licenses and ID cards with new security measures. Starting in August, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will issue new IDs that will include security features designed to crack down on the production of fake driver’s licenses.
“This is the most secure over-the-counter credential available,” said spokeswoman Alexis Bakofsky. Counter strike source config maker download. “We want customers to know that it has double the number of security features to try to combat counterfeit and driver’s license fraud.” Law enforcement officials and tax collectors from across the state were involved with the redesign process, she said.
The colorful new cards include ultraviolet ink and features only visible if viewed under UV light. The subject’s photo will also be printed with a transparent background and appear in four places on the card. “The person’s picture will be on it in four different locations.,” Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano said. “So it’ll be extremely difficult to replicate.” Fasano said the problem of fake IDs is one he’s had to deal with in his jurisdiction. “It wasn’t long ago that the (Pasco County Sheriff’s Office) had a press conference that I was at that we had some guy selling driver’s licenses right over the Internet,” he said. The new IDs will also include features to make it easy to identify what type of license it is and some of the special privileges of the license holder: ‒ Each card will have a different colored header to designate what type of license it is.
Commercial driver’s licenses will be blue; standard driver’s licenses will be green; identification cards will be red; and learner’s licenses will be orange. ‒ Floridians under the age of 21 will have a red box on the front of their licenses that will list the date of their 21st birthday. ‒ The new IDs will also include other designations such as lifetime boating and hunting licenses; freshwater and saltwater fishing licenses; that identify military veterans; and list medical conditions such as hard of hearing and insulin dependency; and, of course, whether the holder is an organ donor. Adding those designations, with the exception of developmental disabilities and organ donors, will add $1 for each designation when the card is renewed or $2 when it’s replaced. “What they’re trying to do, and I think it’s a great idea, is have everything incorporated on your license,” Fasano said. Those designations could benefit drivers, he said, such as those who are deaf. A driver who is pulled over because they didn’t hear an emergency vehicle’s sirens could prove they’re hearing impaired.
Those classified as sexual predators under Florida law will have the words “sexual predator” printed in blue letters on the front of the license. Those classified as sexual offenders will have the number of the state statute printed on their license: “943.0435 F.S.” The front of the card shows a pastel-colored rendering of the Florida state seal and a large orange “FL” in the background. On the back a light blue image of the state, and the word “Florida” and “1845,” the year the state became the nation’s 27th, is printed atop ocean waves. New Florida drivers license and ID cards The new licenses will only be available in certain counties starting in August (none in the Tampa Bay area as of yet) as the new printing machines are rolled out across the state. However, the new design should be available in the bay area, across the state and online by December. Bakofsky said residents should keep checking recommends checking the agency’s website at www.flhsmv.gov/ to find out when the new licenses are available in their areas. All current Florida driver’s licenses and ID cards will remain valid until they expire.
Times staff writer Josh Solomon contributed to this report.