Dakota County exiting pilot program offering same-day driver’s licenses and ID cards

The Dakota County Service and License Center in Lakeville is pulling out of a pilot program that allowed Minnesotans to get their standard driver’s licenses and state identification cards on the spot rather than having to wait weeks or months to get them by mail.

The credentials created using a table-top printer don’t have the same look or feel as cards made by the vendor contracted by Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS).

Consequently, their authenticity has come into question, and users have reported difficulty in conducting banking transactions, renting cars and proving they are of legal age to buy alcohol or tobacco, said Pong Xiong, director of DVS, the division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety that administers written tests and issues driver’s licenses.

Xiong assures those who have one of the cards produced on site that they are a legitimate form of government-issued identification. But, he said, it is up to merchants or businesses to decide whether to accept the ID.

DVS has even had to coach law enforcement on what to look for when encountering the cards, Xiong said.

DVS has issued more than 74,000 of the instantly produced IDs and Class D driver’s licenses and permits since the Legislature approved a pilot three years ago. The pilot allowed service centers in Lakeville and Moorhead to produce and issue the credentials.

Since then, nearly 40% of card holders have allowed them to expire, or replaced them with a traditional license or ID and paid a fee to do so.

Applicants are warned in advance that same-day cards will “have a slightly different look and feel due to the card stock and laminate used in the printing process,” according to the DVS website.

Colors on the cards also don’t appear as clearly as those made by the state’s vendor, Xiong said.

Other differences on same-day cards:

The pilot did not allow for same-day issue of Real IDs, enhanced driver’s licenses, permits or IDs, or commercial driver’s licenses or permits.

Xiong said the vendor printing same-day credentials does not have a simple way to overcome technological barriers and alleviate customer concerns.