Your Florida driver’s license just got safer and smarter

Your Florida driver’s license and ID is the most important card in your wallet. It is a tangible representation of who you are and is used countlessly throughout your lifetime; when you open a bank account, go to the doctor, travel or buy a house. This card is indispensable. And it just got safer, smarter and far more valuable.

For the first time in more than a decade, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) is issuing a new driver’s license and ID card at all service centers throughout Florida and online. Here are the three most important things you need to know about Florida’s new credential.

It’s the most secure, over-the-counter credential on the market today.

DHSMV worked alongside law enforcement to make sure the design of the new credential will keep your information secure. That security is important. It ensures that your credential is verifiable, accurate and that you are the only one carrying it. Florida’s new credential has nearly double the amount of security features as the previous credential. It incorporates the most up-to-date technology to ward off counterfeiters, protect your identity and make your new credential more difficult to duplicate. It’s five cards in one. Your new credential is the most versatile card in your wallet. Its value has gone beyond just verifying your identity and can now act as your Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) lifetime sportsman’s, boater, freshwater, saltwater or hunting license. Additional designations, such as veteran, organ donor, deaf/hard of hearing and insulin dependent, can allow your credential to display important, and potentially life-saving, information. It’s your information — protect it! Getting a new credential is exciting! It can represent new experiences and life changes. Florida’s new driver’s license or ID card is secure, but it is up to you to protect the personal identifying information on that credential. Share it only with those you trust, which should not include your social media followers. Protect the information like you would your life. If you don’t, someone might start living theirs at your expense.

Florida’s new credential brings with it enhanced security features and convenient designations, but it remains the gold-star credential. flhsmv.gov/newDL.

Terry L. Rhodes is executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.