Hawaii State Drivers License Gets a New Look February 1

Beginning February 1, 2010 all State of Hawaii driver’s licenses will be issued with a new design, according to an announcement today by the County of Maui.  The last design change took place in January of 2005.

Image courtesy County of Maui.

“A new, state-of-the-art production system that has been installed throughout the state provides us the opportunity to add unique, identifiable features to be incorporated into the new drivers license cards,” said County of Maui Motor Vehicle and Licensing Administrator Lito Vila.

“These new features enhance the integrity of the drivers license cards by better protecting the holder’s personal information from tampering, alteration, and fraudulent reproduction. Such attempts will be easier to identify, assisting in our continued effort to deter and prevent identity theft in our community,” said Vila.

New design features include:

● A gradient (dark to light) pink shading on the top of the card containing the State of Hawaii flag, the word “USA”, and the outline of the Hawaiian Islands in a “clear window” format.  Another outline of the Hawaiian Islands in a “clear window” format located on the bottom of the card.

● The word HAWAII is in semi-script with upper and lower casing.

● The issue date is located at the top of the photo and overlaps the photo.

● Part of the last name signature overlaps the “sheer” (ghost) image on the horizontal formatted license.

● Part of the first name signature overlaps the “sheer” (ghost) image on the vertical formatted license.

● The “sheer” (ghost) image is located on the lower right of the horizontal formatted license or permit and lower left corner of the vertical formatted license.

● The Rainbow design is not on the instruction permit.

● Each card contains a unique document discriminator number written as item 5 on the front of the card and a unique card serial number on the back of the card, below the linear barcode.

● Bi-dimensional bar code on the back of the card.

● Brief description of the applicable class of license and any restrictions and endorsements listed on the back of the card.

● Date of birth printed in black lettering on the back of the card.

● Hair color and county code no longer displayed.

(Posted by Wendy Osher; Information courtesy County of Maui)