Defective barcode printing is causing scanning issues for Florida driver’s licenses issued between 2017 and 2023. The defect has become a major problem at airports and businesses that depend on automated ID verification, including financial institutions, hotels, and retail establishments.
The barcode on the back of the ID contains all the information displayed on the front. Automated scanners can easily scan this barcode. But if the barcode is blurry, damaged, or altered, scanners may struggle to read it.
Let’s explore this issue more thoroughly and understand the various solutions available to address it.
Why Some Florida Driver’s Licenses Won’t Scan?
The ID’s back has a 2D barcode with all the front’s info. ID scanners read the data from this barcode to easily verify the ID.
At the start of every 2D barcode, there are four vertical lines known as the “start pattern” or “start zone.” The first line is wider, while the remaining three lines are thinner. This section of the 2D barcode signals the scanner where to begin reading the data.
However, researchers have discovered printing problems in Florida driver’s licenses issued after 2017. In most cases, the “start pattern”—and in some cases, almost the entire barcode—appears blurry, or the lines look smudged. As a result, scanners either completely fail to read the barcode or extract incorrect information.
Because of this, businesses that fully rely on automated scanning systems are facing serious problems. Verification delays and other security-related problems are occurring even at airports for Florida ID holders.
How Common Are Florida Driver’s License Scanning Issues?
According to data collected thus far, approximately 1–1.5% of Florida IDs have this issue. We have observed this issue in IDs issued between 2017 and 2023. Since Florida IDs are valid for 8 years, it is expected that businesses will continue to face this issue at least until 2030.
Other Methods to Verify Florida Driver’s Licenses
Businesses dealing with Florida IDs that scanners are unable to read can implement the following verification methods:
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
OCR is an AI-powered digital tool that identifies characters from an image or through a camera and converts them into editable text. This technique allows the ID’s front information to be extracted without scanning the barcode and verified digitally.
The result eliminates the need for manual data entry and increases verification speed. However, capturing the card image with a high-quality camera is crucial for efficient OCR text scanning.
Please ensure the staff are trained for manual verification.
Businesses can train their staff to manually verify Florida driver’s licenses. Staff should learn to tell if a barcode is unscannable due to a printing defect or tampering.
Manually review the information on the front of the card if visual signs indicate a genuine defect. However, if there are signs that the barcode may have been deliberately altered to prevent scanning, the card should be treated as suspicious and carefully investigated.
Conclusion
Various businesses and locations, including banks, clubs, and airports, use barcode scanning for quick and efficient verification. However, due to some printing issues in certain Florida IDs issued between 2017 and 2023, scanning devices are encountering errors.
Verification is crucial, despite the rarity of such cases. Therefore, in such situations, alternative methods like OCR technology or biometric authentication should be used to maintain security.
