For Immediate Release
Date: April 10, 2003
Contact: Jessica Robinson
Phone: (573) 751-8222
(Missouri) – Beginning this month, the Missouri Department of Revenue will issue Driver License, Permit, and Non-driver License documents with a new format and enhanced security features. These security features will assist the department and law enforcement agencies in fraudulent document investigations. The most evident new feature is a ghost portrait of the applicant that will appear at the bottom of the license. Other security features include: an outline of the state of Missouri and the words “Show Me” across the front of the license visible under ultraviolet light, printed data overlapping the ghost portrait, and a two dimensional barcode on the back of the license. Jefferson City, Fulton, Columbia, and St. Louis (South Kingshighway Branch) will pilot the new licenses. The Jefferson City Branch office will begin issuing the new documents April 15th; Fulton, April 17th; Columbia, April 22nd; and South Kingshighway, April 23rd. Upon completion of the pilot program the remaining licensing offices will be phased in during the following months, with an expected completion at the end of September. The Missouri Department of Revenue is dedicated to ensuring the authenticity and integrity of driver licenses and to ensuring that the licenses cannot be easily reproduced. Missouri’s new identification cards will be some of the most secure driver and non-driver license documents produced in the nation.
Department of Revenue Director Carol Fischer said, “We take our job seriously and want to ensure we do everything we can to prevent identification fraud.”
