In January of this year, MDOS began issuing Michigan driver’s licenses and state IDs featuring a new hard card design. There are currently two design versions in circulation.
NEW DESIGN: All enhanced cards requested on or after Jan. 16 and standard cards requested on or after Jan. 23 are produced using the new design.
PREVIOUS DESIGN: All cards that feature the Mackinac Bridge are valid until expiration and are expected to be completely phased out of circulation by January 2029.
In line with national best practices and cutting-edge technology, Michigan changed the look of its driver’s licenses and state IDs to include engraved data and numerous other new security features that will reduce the risk of counterfeiting and fraud. To learn more about these features, please see this one-page summary document.
- The font and color theme have been updated to clearly distinguish from the previous design, and the cards prominently display the Michigan Coat of Arms.
- The names of the five Great Lakes can be seen in multicolored text when the card is held at certain angles. Shading and curved lines in the new design are difficult to replicate, strengthening the integrity of the cards.
- The new cards include a two-line name format that will accommodate more characters than the previous design.
- The state is using a gold Michigan shape with a star in it to indicate licenses and IDs that are REAL ID-compliant.
BARCODES: As part of the card redesign, the magnetic stripe on the back of these new cards has been removed. Updates were made to the configuration of the barcodes that contain the information from the front of the card. Businesses may need to recalibrate their scanners to the new configuration.
