Florida Rolls Out New Driver's License and Central Issuance Process

Florida recently began issuing its newly designed digital driver's license. The licenses are produced by Digimarc in a secure factory at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) headquarters in Tallahassee.

The first residents to receive the new license are those who renew their license or change their address by mail, by telephone, or online. Most non-U.S. citizens are also processed through the central issuance factory after receiving temporary permits at field offices.

The central issuance facility will produce more than 1.3 million licenses annually for residents. The central system is designed to accommodate the expected growth of these services over the next five years. Florida currently issues more than 5 million driver's licenses annually, including central issue production and over-the-counter issuance in branch offices, and this volume is expected to increase with the anticipated growth of Florida's population.

Florida's new licenses include advanced security technologies, including digital watermarking security, a covert, machine-readable and interlocking security layer designed to deter counterfeiting and enable cross-jurisdictional driver's license authentication.

"All customers of our central issuance process have begun receiving the new Florida license, which was designed to help deter identity theft, counterfeiting, and fraud. We are pleased with the progress of the system rollout and look forward to bringing these driver's license enhancements soon to all valid driver's license holders in Florida," said Robert Sanchez, public information administrator, Florida Department Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.