Since mid-2024, North Carolina has issued licenses and ID cards on rigid polycarbonate with laser-engraved details, and the older design stays valid until it expires, so your staff will see both. The quickest checks are the feel of the card, the REAL ID marking, the vertical under-21 format, and whether the printed details match the barcode.
At the door or the counter, your staff has seconds to decide. This guide shows them what a real North Carolina card looks like, front and back, which security features they can check by hand, and where a visual check needs a scanner behind it.
This guide is informational and isn’t legal advice. Confirm your own obligations with the NC ABC Commission, your local regulator or your legal counsel.
NCDMV unveiled the current credential design in May 2024. The front carries symbols of the state: the dogwood, the state flag, an outline of the state border, the marbled salamander and a lighthouse. They sit against the rolling hills of western North Carolina, with hints of blue and green.
The top right corner tells you the card’s REAL ID status:
Both versions are valid state credentials. The marking only tells you whether the card meets federal REAL ID requirements, such as for boarding domestic flights (NCDMV REAL ID page). It says nothing about whether the holder is old enough to buy.
The back of an NC driver license or ID card shows a Colonial Spanish mustang grazing on a beach in eastern North Carolina (NCDMV). It also carries the 2D barcode that holds the cardholder’s encoded data, and that barcode is what your ID scanner reads.
For your staff, the back matters as much as the front. A card can look right on the front while the barcode data on the back tells a different story. Our guide to how an ID scanner works explains what happens when that barcode gets read.
North Carolina law requires licenses and ID cards for applicants under 21 to be “printed in a vertical format.” The statute states the reason plainly: “ease of identification of individuals under age 21 by members of industries that regulate controlled products” (G.S. 20-7). The state built this under-21 ID card for the people working your door: bar, liquor store, vape shop and dispensary staff.
On NCDMV’s sample under-21 license, a red “U21” marker sits under the state name.
A vertical card tells you the holder was under 21 when the state issued it. It doesn’t tell you their age today, because people keep that card after their 21st birthday until it’s renewed or replaced. Read the date of birth every time.
On NCDMV’s sample cards, the number appears as 12 digits, including leading zeros, labeled DLN on a license and IDN on an ID card (NCDMV sample cards). NCDMV doesn’t publish a formal digit-count rule, so treat the samples as a guide rather than a test.
The more useful red flag is a printed number that doesn’t match the number encoded in the barcode. Nobody can catch that mismatch by eye at a busy door. A scanner compares the two in seconds.
Yes. NCDMV phased the older design out of issuance by the end of June 2024, and cards already issued “remain valid until their expiration date” (NCDMV).
That means two designs are in circulation, and your staff will see both. Train them on both, and make sure they know the older design alone isn’t a reason to turn someone away. Expiration date, age and authenticity are what matter.
With two valid designs in circulation, a fake North Carolina ID has more room to hide. Your staff can narrow that room with a few hand checks and a steady routine on every shift.
NCDMV describes the design elements on the card as “among more than 50 security features” (NCDMV). Your staff can check a handful of them by hand in a few seconds:
These checks give your team a fast first read and help them catch cards that are obviously wrong. On their own, they can’t confirm a card is genuine.
Our step-by-step guide to checking IDs walks through a full routine your team can train on.
Today’s fakes are good. Many copy the look of a real card closely, and some carry a barcode that a basic reader will accept. Add a crowded door, bad lighting and a line out the front, and even a well-trained eye misses things. We built our scanners to stand watch over that gap.
We give you layered protection, so you can match the depth of the check to the risk at your door:
Every scan also builds an audit trail, so you can show regulators and law enforcement that your team checks every ID, every time. If you’re weighing your options, compare barcode vs. forensic ID scanners, or explore our fake ID fraud detection solutions. Running a bar or a package store? See our picks for a bar ID scanner and a liquor store ID scanner.
Scanning reduces your risk. It works best alongside good judgment at the door, and your staff still makes the final call.
North Carolina is launching mobile IDs through the NC Wallet. NCDMV says a mobile ID is legally equivalent to a physical ID, and it “cannot be verified simply by looking at your screen” (NCDMV mobile ID page). A mobile ID can also confirm that someone is over 21 without sharing their birth date.
NCDMV notes that some businesses may not be set up to accept mobile IDs right away, and it expects Apple, Google and Samsung wallet options in 2027. If you plan to accept mobile IDs, you’ll need a way to verify them electronically, because a glance at a phone screen won’t confirm anything. Our Mobile Driver’s License (mDL) add-on helps you get ready before customers start pulling out their phones.
It means the card isn’t a REAL ID. It’s still a valid North Carolina license or ID card, but it can’t serve federal purposes such as boarding domestic flights (NCDMV). It has no bearing on whether the holder is old enough to buy.
Not necessarily. North Carolina prints the card vertically when the holder is under 21 at the time of issue (G.S. 20-7). The holder may have turned 21 since then, so the date of birth is what counts.
NCDMV says a mobile ID is legally equivalent to a physical ID but can’t be verified simply by looking at the screen, and some businesses may not be set up to accept it right away (NCDMV). Check your obligations with the NC ABC Commission or your legal counsel, and plan for a device that can verify mobile IDs electronically.
Both designs carry a 2D barcode on the back, which is what a barcode ID scanner reads. Check our coverage chart or talk with our team to confirm support for your specific scanner model.
For 25+ years, IDscanner.com by TokenWorks has helped 20,000+ businesses check IDs with confidence, backed by US-based support. Whether you run one register or a dozen doors, we’ll help you find the right layer of protection for the risk you face.
Schedule a call with our team, or browse our ID scanners for age verification and fake ID detection.
Schedule a call to learn more