Driver’s License Barcodes Decoded
Arguably the most common of form of ID, driver’s licenses are used any time we need to confirm who we are (and more often than not, how old we are). Drivers license barcodes, along with newly updated license designs, began rolling out in May 2016 in Illinois. More on state to state variation below.
What kind of barcodes are on the back of a driver’s license?
If you take a look at the backside of your ID, you’ll find a rectangular black and white pattern known as a PDF417 barcode.
It may not look like your standard barcode, but that PDF417 code contains all the information on the front of your driver’s license or state ID in a single code.
A micro PDF417 is a type of 2D barcode that is capable of storing much more information than the standard 1D code. You may be familiar with QR Codes that you’ve scanned with your phone. Both are types of 2D codes that can be read with a 2D Imager barcode scanner.
Best Barcode Scanners for Driver’s License Verification
Many businesses are using a 2D imager like the AirTrack S2 to quickly verify your age or capture basic info from your driver’s license rather than manually checking ID.
Scanners made specifically for driver’s license verification have many benefits:
- Fast capture, so you keep the line moving in the grocery or convenience store
- 100% accuracy in verification, sidestepping errors from manual ID checks at checkout
- Protection from fraudulent and fake driver’s licenses
While not every state organizes the information contained in ID barcodes the exact same way, the advantage is that criminals cannot change the information in the barcode.
This makes it extremely difficult to create a fake drivers license barcode without knowing exactly how each state encodes the data.
If the barcode isn’t created properly, it won’t read properly.
With the AirTrack S2 scanner, you can scan the code on the back of a driver’s licenses from any state to verify someone’s age quickly and accurately. This is due to the scanner’s ability to parse all the data correctly for you.
The parsing software on the scanner outputs the data you need, in the order you need it, regardless of what state you are dealing with. It’s actually faster than looking at the ID.
Another ID verification scanner we offer is the Honeywell 1400g, with models specifically designed to read PDF417 codes quickly and accurately. Corded and wireless options are available, so you can verify IDs at both the checkout counter or live event.
Avoid Fraud, Errors, and Lost Revenue
Given how simple and cost-effective 2D scanners are to get up and running, every storefront selling age restricted products should have a 2D scanner for age verification/customer info.
Related: Discount Store Case Study
With a simple scan, you avoid fraudulent ID usage and save your business from legal issues, errors, and lost revenue.
Browse our full collection of driver’s license barcode scanners and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions about the best 2D imagers for your business.
What Kind of Barcode Scanner can Scan Driver License?
Arguably the most common of form of ID, driver’s licenses are used any time we need to confirm who we are and more often than not, how old we are. If you take a look at the backside of your ID you’ll find a rectangular black and white pattern know as a PDF417 barcode. It may not look like your standard barcode but that PDF417 code contains all the information on the front of your ID in a single code.
PDF417 is a type of 2D barcode that is capable of storing much more information than the standard 1D code you find on products at the grocery store. You may be familiar with QR Codes that you’ve scanned with your phone. Both are types of 2D codes that can be read with a 2D Imager barcode scanner.
Many businesses are using the barcode on your ID and a 2D Imager like the AirTrack S2 to quickly verify your age or capture your basic info to make signing up for a service quicker. The only real snag with the barcode on your license is that every state doesn’t organize the information in the code the same way. The advantage here is that you cannot change the information in the barcode and to create a fake one requires knowing exactly how each state encodes the data.
If the barcode isn’t created properly, it won’t read properly.
With the AirTrack S2 scanner you can scan the code on the back of a driver’s licenses from any state to verify someone’s age quickly and accurately due to the scanner’s ability to parse all the data correctly for you. Since each state organizes the data differently the parsing software on the scanner outputs the data you need, in the order you need it, regardless of what state you are dealing with. It’s actually faster than looking at the ID.
Given how simple it is to get up and running, not using a scanner for age verification/customer info just doesn’t add up anymore. With a simple scan you can completely avoid fraudulent ID usage and save your business from legal issues, errors, and lost revenue.
Barcodes, Inc. Delivers and Astute Solution
Challenge
Astute Medical manufactures biomarkers that are used to identify high-risk, acute medical conditions in critically ill patients. The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) issued a mandate that medical devices must carry a Unique Device Identifier (UDI), which requires a greater volume of information than had been previously required.
Astute Medical sought a compliance labeling solution that would meet UDI requirements in accordance with GS1 Standards. The manufacturer also wanted to receive accurate and repeatable verification results and a solution that included a Validation Protocol to document compliance with these requirements. We needed to not only comply with federal regulations, but also ensure that we were sending out our medical devices with a high-quality barcode, “to avoid returns,” explained Susan Shelton, Materials Management and Procurement Manager of Astute Medical.
Analysis
Astute Medical designs, engineers, and manufactures novel biomarkers that enable clinicians to identify acute conditions in their critically ill patients before the symptoms become evident. Products like the NephroCheck Test and Astute140 Meter fall under the guidelines of the FDA’s Unique Device Identification rule. This system was established to identify medical devices throughout their distribution and use, providing critical traceability that benefits the patient, caregiver, manufacturer, and distributor.
AirTrack S2 Helps County of Greenwood (SC) Sheriff Department’s Capture Data from Driver’s License in the Field
The County of Greenwood (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department is to provide for the safety and protection of the citizens and businesses of Greenwood County through proven full service law enforcement practices, including both reactive and proactive responses to criminal activity, to ensure that public interests and constitutionally guaranteed liberties are protected and that the judicial process is followed according to law. In order to provide the best data to their patrol officers, they needed a way to scan a driver’s license and look up any associated records from out in the field.
Barcodes, Inc. recommended the AirTrack S2 to scan the 2D barcodes off of driver’s licenses. The S2 is a fast, precise and nimble barcode scanner that offers omnidirectional reading and is rugged enough to withstand repeated drops from 5 feet to concrete. Since most driver’s licenses are equipped with both 1D and 2D barcodes, the S2 is ideal for its ability to read both symbologies. Additionally, the S2 can be configured to parse specific driver’s license information based on what data the patrol office wants to capture (i.e. name, driver’s license number, address, birthdate, etc.). The data is then parsed into the department’s software program to look up information on the individual, such as previous records, outstanding warrants, and other information. In order to protect their investment, the Sheriff’s department invested in AirTrack service contracts to protect their devices from defects and normal wear and tear.
To learn more about AirTrack, our Government solutions, or driver’s license parsing, contact one of our representatives.
Infographic: Shining Light on Barcoding
Whether we notice it or not, barcodes are being used all around us in more applications than ever today. From tracking products throughout their life cycle to advertising and even video games, there is a wide range of barcodes fit for any way you can think of using them.
This handy infographic shines some light on the 2 main categories of barcodes, 1D vs. 2D codes, and what their benefits and uses are. It’s a great primer to see how you can use barcodes in ways outside of the retail check-out lane.
You’ll find that no matter what data you are trying to track or encode, Barcodes, Inc. can help you find the right printer, labels, scanners, and mobile devices to get the most out of any barcode.
How 2D Barcode Scanning Can Benefit your Business
Scanning Basics: From Laser to Imager
Whether you’re aware of it or not, barcodes are one of the most influential technologies of the 20th century. The simple black and white bars you find on every product have helped usher in a level of efficiency that has allowed for large scale tracking around the globe. Many businesses would not be possible to run without the humble barcode. Keeping track of anything accurately is almost unimaginable without barcodes.
Historically, laser-based scanners were used to read barcodes. These laser scanners are still found in many applications today. While there have been advances in the speed and accuracy of laser scanners, the technology is still essentially the same it was when it was first developed in the ‘70s.
Today however, there are two technologies used in readers for barcode scanning: lasers and imagers. Imagers offer several improvements over the traditional laser while also providing important new capabilities, such as being able to read 2D barcodes. Imagers may have been used only in special cases in the past, but today, the advantages they provide over lasers can help improve almost any scanning application.
Code Introduces the New CR6000 Industrial DPM Scanner
Code has announced the release of the Code Reader 6000 (CR6000), an industrial grade direct part mark (DPM) reader that enhances data collection with the latest advancements in barcode reading.
The CR6000 employs Code’s latest imaging technology to achieve consistent first pass read rates of dot peen and laser-etched barcodes, regardless of surface type. Combining advanced illumination control and patented anti-glare technology with a propriety decoding platform, the CR6000 excels in reading low-contrast, hard-to-read barcodes, even those that are damaged by every day wear and tear.
Barcodes Help Provide The Complete History of Aomori Apples
The Aomori prefectural government and local apple farmers plan to introduce a barcode system that will allow customers to check the history of each apple they buy. The move was prompted by growing calls for safer food, particularly in foreign countries.
Aomori Prefecture, a prime apple growing area in northern Japan, is seeking to expand the export of its apples to foreign markets. The new system will use the very common QR Code, a two-dimensional barcode. QR codes can be read by mobile phones, giving the customer information on where the apple came from and how it was cared for, such as how often pesticides were used, and even providing a photo and message from the farmer who grew the fruit. The data will be available in Japanese, Chinese and English.
TSC Label Printers Pass GS1 Barcode Testing and Certification
In recent years, the growing popularity of smart phones has triggered the increased use of two-dimensional barcodes, which offer large data-storage capacity and are secure and easily readable. This has resulted in the need for standardized tests, including GS1 certification testing, to ensure the quality and readability of two-dimensional barcodes.
Eleven TSC barcode label printers have recently passed rigorous GS1 two-dimensional barcode tests and have been found to be in compliance with international standards. The 11 models, supporting Data Matrix, QR code and GS1 Databar barcode types, were tested with 88 different labels and passed 18 ISO IEC 15415 two-dimensional barcode quality tests. The validation testing, which included light source, print quality and other assessments, was done using advanced measuring instruments and stringent control standards.
Microscan Imagers Ensure 2D Code Readability and Increase Efficiency During Manufacturing of Miniature Identifiers
The Challenge
A leading supplier of electrical and fiber optic interconnects, switches and application tooling, manufactures miniature identifier chips that provide unique product traceability of work-in-progress (WIP) printed circuit boards (PCBs) in medium to high-volume electronics assembly processes.
The pad measures only 2.80mm by 1.80mm, and is just 0.30mm thick, requiring minimal space on a PCB. Each pad is laser etched with data using a Data Matrix 2D code that provides explicit identification for 1 billion unique combinations. This is particularly important for customers that have multiple surface-mount technology (SMT) lines or multiple contract manufacturers. Every single board remains unique, providing traceability to the production equipment and/or supplier used for a particular board. It also results in very significant cost savings as all of the infrastructure required is already in place on the customers’ SMT lines.
