The state Motor Vehicle Commission tweeted this month that New Driver’s Licenses and ID cards being issued have a new feel and look.
The most obvious change incorporates the MVC’s new logo and color scheme also seen at agencies and inspections stations.
But some drivers said the new documents have a different feel than the old ones — people said they feel fake.
Gone is the plastic-feel of the old license that was slightly thinner than a credit card or corporate ID. Some drivers said the new license has been rejected when they used it for proof of being of legal drinking age at bars.
The new licenses and IDs have a different feel to them and include several improved security features, said William Connolly, an MVC spokesman.
“Both changes help MVC to combat fraud and identity theft, enhance security of individuals’ personal information, and make it more difficult for fraudsters to produce counterfeit NJ licenses and IDs,” he said, declining to describe exactly what the features were for security reasons.
The change happened when the MVC switched from issuing driver’s licenses at agencies to issuing them from a central facility and mailing them to drivers, Connolly said.
New Jersey is one of more than two dozen states that switched from issuing licenses at agencies to producing them at a central license facility.
So, why the different feel?
“The improved security features could not be implemented using the old technology that was used to print licenses and IDs (in agencies),” Connolly said. “The new material and centralized production make the new licenses and IDs more secure and less susceptible to fraudulent reproduction.”