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.