On September 30, 2026, Florida began issuing a redesigned driver license and identification card. Existing Florida cards stay valid until they expire, so businesses that check IDs will see the old and new designs side by side for years. That overlap is where fake IDs can slip through.
Here’s what changed and how to protect your business.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) announced newly designed driver licenses and identification cards with a refreshed layout and upgraded security features to make the card harder to counterfeit.
The front of the new card shows Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine, an orange standing in for the “O” in “Florida,” and a manatee in the bottom left corner. The REAL ID star wraps around an alligator. On the back, you’ll find the Discovery space shuttle and the motto “Let Us Alone.”
The card builds on the security features already found on recent Florida designs and adds an enhanced image of the state seal.
Three points from the rollout matter most to businesses:
No, Florida residents can keep using their current Florida driver license or ID card until it expires, and they’ll receive the new design at their next renewal, replacement, or first issuance. FLHSMV’s announcement confirms that all currently valid credentials remain valid.
This means businesses will handle several valid Florida designs at once, since cards issued since 2017 will still be in wallets alongside the 2026 card. Every one of them is legitimate, which gives counterfeiters more templates to copy.
Counterfeiters move fast after a redesign. In the first months, staff haven’t learned the new card yet, and that’s the window fakes slip through.
When staff members have to remember one layout, they catch obvious fakes. When they have to remember two or three, confidence drops and lines back up. A doorman at 1 a.m. on a Saturday has seconds to decide, and a quality fake of an older design looks just as “normal” as the real thing.
Today’s fakes are also built to beat the quick checks. Many carry a working barcode that scans and pulls up a name, which is why a basic barcode read only confirms the data is readable. It doesn’t confirm the card is authentic. Our breakdown of how an ID scanner works walks through the difference between reading data and authenticating a document.
A layered approach fixes this problem:
Here’s a practical checklist for the weeks ahead:
If you run a nightclub or high-volume bar, our guide to the best ID scanners for bars and nightclubs compares handheld options built for fast door flow. Liquor retailers can start with our liquor store ID scanner page.
The new “Temporary Non-Domiciled” marking on Florida CDLs and CLPs gives shipping and logistics teams one more detail to check when a driver arrives for pickup. It marks a commercial credential issued to a foreign national in temporary, lawful work status. These credentials are short-lived, so dock staff should check the expiration date closely and verify the card like any other.
That verification step matters because cargo thieves increasingly use fake driver’s licenses and forged carrier paperwork to pose as legitimate drivers and pull fictitious pickups. We’ve covered how fake IDs and cargo theft are costing companies millions.
Forensic authentication with IDentiFake checks the driver’s license itself against known document templates before you release freight. It helps your team confirm that the person at the dock carries a genuine credential, and it logs the check so you have a record of every pickup.
Mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) are spreading across states, and more customers will hand you a phone instead of a plastic card over the next few years. A physical redesign and the move to mobile credentials mean more valid formats for your team to accept correctly.
Our Mobile Driver’s License (mDL) add-on prepares your scanners to read mobile IDs, so you can support new credentials as they arrive instead of scrambling after a customer’s phone becomes their only ID.
Most scanners read the data encoded in a license’s barcode, but forensic authentication compares the card against known document templates, so its library needs to include the new design. Contact our team, and we’ll confirm your device is up to date.
The redesign changes the card, not the state’s ID verification requirements. For alcohol-licensed businesses, see our Florida ID verification laws guide and confirm specifics with the state or your attorney.
We’ve helped 20,000+ businesses verify age and detect fake IDs for more than 25 years, with US-based support, financing options, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Browse our ID scanner products, or speak with an expert to find the right setup for your door, counter, or loading dock.
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