In October 2025, the California DMV began issuing redesigned driver’s licenses and ID cards with updated security features. The new cards added a digital security signature to one of the two barcodes on the back and removed the magnetic strip entirely.
California is one of the first states in the country to add this kind of security to its barcodes. If your scanner isn’t updated for the new design, you could miss fakes that are already out there.
The physical design is new, but the barcode is what matters for ID verification. The updated California cards carry a digital security signature embedded in the barcode data. That signature is what makes a real card harder to replicate.
Counterfeit IDs made before the rollout won’t have it. Fakes produced after may try to replicate it, only to get it wrong. Your scanner needs to know what to look for.
Our BCD+ uses proprietary algorithms that are continuously improved by AI and machine learning to verify real IDs against counterfeits.
For California, that means BCD+ reads the barcode data on newly issued cards and validates it against what a legitimate California ID should actually contain. If something doesn’t match, the card gets flagged.
California joins a growing list of states where BCD+ has been specifically calibrated for high-accuracy verification.
We continue to build out and refine state-level algorithms as ID designs evolve across the country.
BCD+ is bundled with DMVCheck, providing a low-cost, unlimited scanning solution across all our products
For businesses that aren’t ready to invest in a dedicated handheld ID scanner, our iOS and Android apps offer sophisticated fake ID detection on a phone or tablet
Contact us today to learn more about BCD+.
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