KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Alaska’s driver license and identification cards are getting a new look next month. The new design is part of a national effort to limit identity theft and make it harder for IDs to be duplicated. Alaska’s new design will include new security features including a ghost image that is difficult to recreate on a fake card.
The new licenses and IDs will also be administered in a new way. Instead of picking up new cards the same day at a local Division of Motor Vehicles office, residents will be given a temporary card at the DMV and have their new ID or license mailed to them. The temporary ID will be good for 60 days, and the new cards are expected to take between two and four weeks to reach people by mail.
According to a press release from the Alaska DMV the new administration process is known as central issuance and there are about 26 other states that use this method for administering licenses and IDs.
The new cards will be available starting in June, but people can wait until their current ID or license expires before they need to get a new one.
