Florida modernizes driver’s license enrollment with Veridos biometric capture

Florida is modernizing the enrollment process behind its driver’s licenses and state IDs, deploying new biometric capture equipment to standardize how applicant photos, signatures and supporting documents become part of the state’s identity records.

Veridos America, a regional subsidiary and division of the global Veridos brand, will deploy new enrollment equipment and software for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) and the tax collectors.

The company says its deployment reaches all 67 Florida counties and handles biometric photographs for more than four million drivers each year.

The biometric information collected at the service location is sent to existing FLHSMV systems. According to Veridos, the system supports data uploads and validation checks, with encryption applied during the transfer of sensitive information.

State law already requires a full-face photograph and a signature made in the presence of an authorized departmental agent. FLHSMV has to retain both items with the other information used to identify and retrieve the license record.

Federal requirements give the quality of that information more significance. The REAL ID regulations require participating states to photograph applicants and verify prescribed identity information with the authorities that issued it.

Photographs displayed on compliant credentials have to follow ISO/IEC 19794-5 specifications, and signatures are subject to requirements incorporated from AAMVA.

FLHSMV deputy director of customer service Delivery Terry Stepp says the updated equipment provides more consistent processing across the state while protecting customer information.

Veridos America business development director Steve Yonkers argues that protecting a driver’s license begins before the card is produced. Incorrect or fraudulent information can bind unreliable information to its holder.

The Florida deployment addresses this initial stage. A suitable portrait provides officials and other authorized verifiers with a basis for comparing the person with the license and the biometric photograph printed on it.

Veridos presents the new system as a way to make Florida’s driver license processing faster, more consistent, and better protected. The statewide use of common equipment could support those objectives.

In a potential downstream use, police departments could request searches of driver’s license records via a facial recognition system to generate investigative leads.

Article Topics

biometric enrollment  |  face biometrics  |  Florida  |  identity document  |  Veridos