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Change paves way for facial recognition anti-fraud software coming in 2008
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July 9, 2007
07-087
Oregon residents soon will start to see a change in how DMV issues driver licenses and identification cards.
DMV will convert all its offices to centralized issuance of driver licenses and ID cards now that it has completed a pilot at five field offices in the Eugene-Springfield area. The rest of Oregon's DMV offices will be converted one by one over the summer.
Under centralized issuance, DMV will issue an interim card to customers who qualify for Oregon driving privileges or an ID card. Customers will receive their permanent plastic cards – produced and mailed from a central location instead of provided at DMV field offices – typically within five to 10 business days after their visit to DMV. This is the same way that cards are issued in California, Washington and about a dozen other states.
The requirements for obtaining driving privileges or an ID card – such as driving tests and proof of identity and residency in Oregon – will not change.
“The main difference customers will see is that they will get a paper interim card instead of the secure plastic card at the DMV office,” DMV Administrator Lorna Youngs said. “The only other difference is minor changes in appearance of the permanent card.”
The centrally issued permanent card will have the same design and security features as the over-the-counter plastic card that DMV has been issuing since 2004. However, the new printing process creates a slightly different look and feel:
- The new permanent card feels thinner and more flexible because it is printed on a more durable, tear-resistant plastic.
- The text and colors are clearer and more vibrant.
- And the rainbow colors on the side, as well as the clear plastic laminate coating the entire card, extend to the edge of the card.
The bar codes on both the interim and permanent cards also will change under the central issuance process. Businesses that scan the new barcodes may get a false reading that a card is invalid. Those businesses may need to check with their software provider for an update.
People who have been issued the interim card and are awaiting their permanent card may wish to carry additional identification if they need to conduct business that requires ID. Banks, retailers, other businesses and government agencies may set their own policies for establishing identification of customers carrying the interim card.
The interim card is not a secure identification document. It is intended as proof that the person has qualified for a driver license, instruction permit or ID card. Oregon law requires people to carry a driver license or interim card whenever they are driving.
Oregon is converting to this new issuance process as a first step in installing anti-fraud “facial recognition” software by the July 1, 2008, deadline set by the 2005 Oregon Legislature.
“Starting in July 2008, Oregon law will allow DMV to issue a card only if it finds no other matching photos under any other names of the same individual in its database,” Youngs said. “When this new software is installed, the applicant’s photo will be checked after business hours against all photos on file, including customers who received interim cards that day.”
Once the new technology is in place, if an applicants’ photo appears similar to an existing photo under a different name, DMV will not issue the permanent card and instead will contact law enforcement.
In cases where photos are similar but not identical, DMV will ask those individuals to return to DMV with additional proof of identity before issuing a final card.
This fraud-prevention law originated in the 2005 Oregon Legislature and is not related to the federal Real ID Act.
For details about centralized issuance and facial recognition, visit OregonDMV.com
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| More Information |
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For more information, contact:
DMV Public Affairs
(503) 945-5270
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