Fresh design elements on Louisiana’s new driver’s license and ID card

Earlier this month, the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) revealed a new design for the state’s driver’s licenses and identification cards. At first glance, the old design and new design are strikingly similar, but a closer look reveals a few visible changes, including a “ghosted” photo image, multi-colored fine line background printing, and a tri-color overlay. Each of these features (as well as other unspecified changes) is intended to improve security, privacy protection, and resistance to tampering.

The last update Louisiana made to ID cards and driver’s licenses was in 2001. The OMV anticipates it will take 6-8 weeks for all offices statewide to begin distribution of the new design; OMV Commissioner Stephen Campbell said, “We expect for all offices to have the new system in place by the end of May”. If a Louisiana citizen obtains a new license or ID card at an office that is not yet issuing the new design, that card will still be valid until it expires. Additionally, current driver’s licenses and state ID cards do not need to be replaced until they expire. The OMV emphasized that despite the rollout of the new design and increased security features, the process and the cost for obtaining a new driver’s license or ID card will remain the same. Read the Louisiana OMV Press Release.