De La Rue supplies enhanced NY State driver licence

De La Rue Identity Systems has revealed that it is supplying the New York State DMV with the solution to issue its new WHTI compliant Enhanced Driver Licence (EDL).

The new licence is a combination of advanced anti-counterfeit and security technologies, including a range of pre-printed security features on both the front and back of the card as well as a radio frequency identification tag (RFID) and antenna. The EDL will be issued alongside the existing New York State driver licence which is also supplied by De La Rue Identity Systems. The existing licence is one of the top three contracts in terms of issuing volumes in the United States and is acknowledged to be among the most secure licence documents currently available.

The EDL will be issued from 16 September 2008 to US citizens with New York State residency. It is expected to be the largest EDL scheme, in terms of volumes, in the country. It can be used in place of passports for travel by land or sea to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda. New York State is expected to benefit economically as the EDL will allow faster and easier movement of people and trade at the New York State - Canadian border, while border security will also be increased.

The EDL will be valid for a period of eight years from the date of issue, subject to the type of license, with combined volumes of around five million per year expected for the EDL and existing licence.

The application process will follow that of the existing driver licence, which uses De La Rue’s MIDIS technology for enrolment, data capture and audit control at 120 New York State DMV offices around the state. MIDIS document issuing software is already operational in more than 750 locations for more than 50 government customers worldwide, providing a total solution for the secure issuing of national identity documents. The EDL is made from the same material as the existing licence to ensure that it has the same look and feel. This material has been extensively developed by De La Rue to satisfy all the security and durability requirements of critical government ID card programmes.