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Benefits of a Secure License
- Helps Prevent Identity Theft
- Reduces Underage Drinking and Driving
- Keeps Drunk Drivers off the Road
- Combats Welfare and Medicare Theft
- Reduces Voter Fraud
- Cracks Down on Dead Beat Dads
- Helps Protect Americans from Terrorist Attacks
Central Issuance: Good for Security, Good for Nevada
Millions of Americans will flock to resorts in Las Vegas and Reno this holiday season for family reunions and winter vacations along with more than 1.7 million oversees visitors. For vacation hotspots like Nevada, foreign “snowbirds” who don’t want to fly home present a challenge to Nevada DMV officials when the applicant presents documents to verify identity and lawful presence. Since 9/11, state officials have taken a series of steps to increase the security of driver license and ID cards issuance. The latest step is a new look and a more secure issuance process.
On November 1st, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) began testing the department’s Central Issuance system at the Carson City office. The new driver licenses have many more security features aimed to reduce counterfeiting.
The new security features include micro-printing, ghost images and a laser-engraved outline of the State of Nevada and additional hidden features that will not be disclosed to the public. The Nevada DMV will now use facial recognition software to compare new applicant photos to existing motor vehicle photos to guard against an applicant using multiple identities to acquire multiple licenses or to steal the identity of an existing driver license holder.
The increased physical security features on the new license will increase the cost by only 75 cents, from $21.25 to $22. Cost saving of moving to a central issuance system may offset this increase or even reduce the cost.
“What Nevadans get for that 75 cents is what one Department of Homeland Security official called the most secure cards in the United States in terms of counterfeiting,” said Nevada DMV Director Ginny Lewis.