AAMVA driver license barcode

The 2D barcode on the back of every US driver license is a PDF417 symbol encoding the licensee's identity fields per the AAMVA Card Design Standard. Originally specified in 2000, currently at version 10 (2020). This is the reference for parser development, kiosk testing, and authorized-issuer workflows.

Canonical spec: AAMVA Card Design Standard v10 (published 2020-09, current through 2026).
Barcode symbology: PDF417 (ISO/IEC 15438).
Prior versions: v8 (2013), v9 (2016), v10 (2020). Most states are on v8 or higher; v10 adoption varies by state.

Lawful use only. This reference page documents the AAMVA encoding so developers can build compliant parsers, run age-verification kiosk tests with synthetic data, and support authorized-issuer workflows. Producing a counterfeit government ID is identity fraud and is prosecuted as a felony in every US state (18 U.S.C. § 1028 adds federal exposure up to 15 years). The generator at /drivers-license-aamva-barcode-generator/ enforces a compliance checklist.

What it is

An AAMVA barcode is a PDF417 symbol whose decoded payload begins with a fixed header, then one "subfile" per data domain. The core subfile is DL (driver license); commercial licenses add ZA..ZZ jurisdiction-specific subfiles.

Header structure:

@
ANSI <IIN><version><jurisdiction version><subfile count>DL<subfile offset><subfile length>

The first four bytes are compliance indicator (@), data element separator (\x1e), record separator (\x0d), and the literal ANSI. Parsers that miss these bytes reject the code.

Element codes

Each data element is a 3-character code followed by its value, with a newline separator. The most common:

Code	Meaning	Format
`DAA`	Customer name (legacy, pre-v8)	LAST,FIRST,MIDDLE
`DAC`	First name	Text
`DCS`	Last name	Text
`DAD`	Middle name	Text
`DBB`	Date of birth	MMDDYYYY
`DBA`	License expiration	MMDDYYYY
`DBD`	License issue date	MMDDYYYY
`DBC`	Sex (1=male, 2=female, 9=N/A)	1 digit
`DAQ`	License number	Alphanumeric
`DAG`	Street address line 1	Text
`DAI`	City	Text
`DAJ`	State (2-char)	Alpha
`DAK`	ZIP code	5 or 9 digits
`DAU`	Height	e.g. `070 in`
`DAW`	Weight (pounds)	e.g. `180`
`DAY`	Eye colour	3 letters: BLU / BRO / GRN / GRY / HZL / BLK / MAR / PNK / DIC / UNK
`DAZ`	Hair colour	3 letters: BAL / BLK / BLN / BRO / GRY / RED / SDY / WHI / UNK
`DCA`	Vehicle class	A / B / C / D / M / Others
`DCB`	Restrictions	Alphanumeric
`DCD`	Endorsements	Alphanumeric
`DCF`	Document discriminator	Jurisdiction-specific
`DDE`	Family name truncation	T / N / U

Issuer Identification Number (IIN)

Every US state has a 6-digit IIN assigned by AAMVA. Examples:

State	IIN	State	IIN
California	`636014`	New York	`636001`
Texas	`636015`	Florida	`636010`
Illinois	`636035`	Pennsylvania	`636025`
Ohio	`636023`	Georgia	`636055`
North Carolina	`636004`	Michigan	`636032`

The full jurisdiction IIN table (50 states + DC + Canadian provinces + US territories) lives in the generator's jurisdiction dropdown — scroll through to find any issuer.

Version differences

Version	Published	Key changes
v8	2013	Added the compliance header (`@\x1e\r`). Baseline for modern parsers.
v9	2016	Clarified `DCF` document-discriminator format. Added `DDE`/`DDF`/`DDG` truncation flags.
v10	2020	Added document-image elements; relaxed height units. Most modern DMVs emit v10 headers.

What real licenses have that a printed AAMVA barcode does NOT

This matters for anti-fraud workflows: a PDF417 that parses correctly is not the same as a genuine license. Physical licenses rely on:

Holograms — state seal, laminate patterns, optically variable devices.
UV/IR features — inks visible only under 365nm UV or IR illumination. Present on every modern license.
Microprinting — 0.2mm text embedded in the card that resists reprographic copying.
Tactile features — raised surfaces on the name and birth date, laser-engraved on polycarbonate cards.
Cryptographic attestation (Mobile DL) — ISO/IEC 18013-5 mDL is the emerging digital-signature layer that proves the card was issued by the jurisdiction.

Age-verification kiosks that rely on PDF417 parsing alone are routinely spoofed. Production workflows must combine barcode parse + at least one physical feature check.

Canonical test vectors

Use obviously-synthetic data when generating test payloads. JOHN TEST, JANE SAMPLE, DOB in the future or pre-1900 — anything that cannot be mistaken for a real person.

Case	Inputs	Expected header substring
California v10, synthetic	`jurisdiction=CA first=JOHN last=TEST license=D1234567 dob=1990-01-01`	`ANSI 636014100002DL`
Texas v10, synthetic	`jurisdiction=TX first=JANE last=SAMPLE license=12345678`	`ANSI 636015100002DL`
New York v9, synthetic	`jurisdiction=NY first=TEST last=USER`	`ANSI 636001090002DL`

Common pitfalls

Missing compliance header. Parsers that start reading from ANSI and skip the @\x1e\r prefix will reject your payload because byte 0 is not @.
Wrong date format. AAMVA uses MMDDYYYY, not YYYY-MM-DD. An expiration of 2030-03-01 encodes as 03012030.
Height units. v10 accepts both inches (070 in) and centimetres (178 cm). Older versions accept inches only.
Name truncation flags. DDE/DDF/DDG must be T (truncated), N (not truncated), or U (unknown). Any other value crashes some parsers.
Jurisdiction-specific element codes. States add ZA-ZZ prefixed codes (California has ZCA, Texas has ZTX, etc.). Unknown codes should be skipped by parsers, not rejected.
IIN mismatch. A California licence with IIN 636015 (Texas) parses successfully but fails any post-parse validity check. Real DMVs cross-check IIN against state embedded in the MRZ.

Scanner compatibility

Reader	Support	Notes
iOS Camera (iOS 17+)	License-aware	Wallet app recognises AAMVA payloads and can offer to add as an ID card.
Android Camera	Not native	Treats as raw PDF417. License-aware parsing requires an ID-verification app.
Google Lens	Raw PDF417 only	Displays the decoded text without AAMVA parsing.
Commercial ID-verification SDK (IDEMIA, Jumio, Onfido)	Full parse	Industry-standard for age-verification kiosks and online KYC.
Industrial PDF417 scanner (Zebra, Honeywell)	Full parse	Most modern firmware includes AAMVA parsing out of the box.