What's in the driver's license bar code?From

Scott Schrams

website

Last time I had my driver's license renewed, I noticed a bar code on the back. So, I decided totry to read this bar code to see what kind of information might be hidden there. Alabama allowsyou to refuse to put your social security number on the front of the license, and I was particularlyinterested in finding out if they had secretly encoded it in the bar code.There are several different types of bar codes. There are 1-dimensional codes, like the familiar UPC code found on food products. The code used on the Alabama license is a 2-dimensionalcode of the format PDF417 (or PDF-417.) The siteBarCode 1.nethas a lot of information aboutthe various kinds of bar codes and how to read and write them.PDF417 bar codes look like this. (This isn't the one from my driver's license.)I found somedemo software from Axtelthat will read the PDF417 from a TIF

image file.Using a flat bed image scanner, I scanned the back of the license into a file, and decoded the bar codes into plain text.Mike from Alabama writes thatthis sitehas an easy to use decoder that might work better thanthe one from Axtel.The bar code contains 286 bytes of information. The information is not encrypted and isdelimited by short codes. The file begins with the letters AAMVA, then includes several fieldscontaining the personal information printed on the license. There was no social security number,and no surprises. (However, your state might be different.) The only other information wassome short codes at the beginning which indicate that the license came from Alabama, and isversion number 1.What could be the purpose for including all of this information in a barcode on the back of thelicense when they already have the information in the state database? It must be there tocommunicate the information quickly to someone who is not connected to the database. For example, police could quickly collect names, addresses and race of everyone passing a roadblock or boarding an airplane. If you move to another state, it would save them a bit of typing.For them to make use of the information in the license itself, you have to give the license tothem. It would be far more useful to law enforcement if they could check everyone's ID withoutthem being aware of it. (See discussion of facial recognition below.) The government might propose adding something to the license that can be queried via a low power radio transmitter (like shoplifting tags, or automatic toll collection schemes do now).

Paul from NY writes that the NY driver's license has both 1-D and 2-D barcodes. The 1-D barcode contains the ID number, the birthdate and the expiration date. Paul says that whenever he goes to a convenience store to buy beer, they scan his license using theIDentiScan IDS6000 which flashes red or green depending on age. According to their site, the IDentiScan records theage, license number, date of birth and expiration date. The information can later be uploaded toa host computer or printed. Of course, the only information that they need to know is that youare over 21. The unlikely rationale offered by IDentiScan is this: "Many bar, restaurant, andliquor store owners aren't aware of their state's legislation concerning the purchase of agesensitive products by a minor." Since your personal information is stored, it could easily becombined with the cash register data and sold. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB)requires a scan of your license at all liquor stores and the purchase information is kept inelectronic database in Harrisburgfor use by law enforcement.Wired News reports that bars are using the scansto collect data on their customers.David from Kansas writes that he used a reader to get the information from the magnetic strip onhis license, and found that it duplicated the information printed on the front.The AAMVA turns out to be an acronym for American Association of Motor VehicleAdministrators (their site).The AAMVA National Standard for the DL/ID 2000 availableheredescribes the bar code fileformat and all of the possible fields (including several which are not on my license). It describesmapping drivers license information to magnetic tape, optical memory cards, and integratedcircuits.Those other formats can hold a lot more data than a bar code, and would be much more difficultto read (or more likely will be encrypted.) A binary file containing your photograph could easily be included in such a format. (Your state is probably already keeping a copy of your license photograph in a database in case you turn out to be a criminal.) But, most likely a chip in thelicense of the near futurewill store your fingerprintand you'll be required to touch a scanner to prove it's your card.The Denver Postreportsthat driver's license photographs of innocent people have been routinelyused in police photo lineups for over 30 years. If you are mistakenly identified as a criminal, a background check is run on you, and you may be interviewed by police and required to producean alibi.Hidden cameras and facial recognition software have been used at the Superbowl, and other public places. The existing driver's license photographs, taken under controlled lightingconditions could allow everyone to be identified and whereabouts recorded in a database.(Update: It has beenreportedthat some of the facial recognition software currently doesn't work very well in actual use.)I'm sure that you'll be comforted knowing that the AAMVA is fulfilling its mission "to moreeffectively serve the driving public" by developing standards for the storage and exchange of