4 quirky North Carolina ID design features you may have missed
Flying in 2025? REAL ID deadline is coming in May.
Here’s what you’ll need a REAL ID for.
- North Carolina’s new driver’s licenses and IDs feature over 50 security measures and state-inspired imagery.
- The new cards include depictions of the state salamander, flower, and horse, along with blacklight-visible details.
- REAL ID compliant cards, marked with a star, will be required starting May 7, 2025, for federal facilities and air travel.
- While REAL ID is not mandatory, it simplifies access to federal sites and domestic flights.
Though previous license and ID designs in North Carolina were phased out in June 2024, the new look is so intricate there may still be elements you haven’t noticed.
According to NCDMV information, the new IDs feature more than 50 security features used to detect and deter fraud. Among these features are a number of state-inspired design elements, from blue and green colors “chosen to correspond with well-known state attributes such as its rolling hills and abundant nature” to native flora and fauna and beyond.
“I am proud to announce the implementation of the most secure credential in our great state’s history,” DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said in an news release. “Our new licenses and IDs will be among the most secure identifying documents in the world.”
With almost a year since NC’s previous license design was phased out of production, here are some quirky features of the new ID design you may not have noticed – plus information on upcoming REAL ID requirements and more.
4 North Carolina ID design features you may have missed
The newest iteration of N.C.’s license and ID design is complex, with many wildly different elements. Here’s a short list of just a few of these features:
- Marbled salamander: As N.C.’s official salamander, the marbled salamander is a black and gray species found commonly throughout the state. Not only does the new ID feature a tiny, rough-textured salamander on the front right side, but even smaller details are a part of the animal’s design. The salamander’s tail appears to slip “through” a transparent panel, with the tip of the tail appearing on the back of the card. On the front, the ID owner’s license number lines one side of the salamander’s body. On the back, numbers turn into letters, with the owner’s name printed in minuscule text.
- Dogwood flower: Just to the left of the salamander, N.C.’s state flower is printed. In fact, the pale pink dogwood bloom serves as a frame to another of the ID design’s unique features: a holographic panel that shifts depending on the angle between the owner’s ID photo and their month of birth and last two digits of their year of birth.
- Colonial Spanish mustang: N.C.’s state horse is printed on the back of the ID, pictured grazing on a beach just above yet another copy of the owner’s ID photo. Above the salamander’s tail, the faint image of a horse’s head can also be seen.
- Blacklight features: The new ID design also features a number of intricate details visible only via blacklight and faintly at certain angles. Among these are a plane similar to the one first flown by the Wright brothers, the state’s seal, multiple compasses, several more marbled salamanders, a Venus flytrap and even more unique details.
As quoted above, the new credentials are “among the most secure identifying documents in the world.” And the unique features don’t end there. The IDs are also designed to feel and even sound different.
This is due to the composition of the cards. The new credentials are made of 100% polycarbonate personalized using laser engraving. This makes the cards feel stiffer, and make “a unique metallic sound” when dropped.
When do I need a REAL ID?
The license design changed in 2024 isn’t the only big news around identification requirements in the past 12 months. Passed by Congress in 2005 as a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the REAL ID act is intended to “establish minimum security standards for state-issued driver licenses and IDs to help prevent fraudulent identification.”
The REAL ID Act will go into effect on May 7, 2025.
What is a REAL ID? What does REAL ID look like in NC?
N.C. REAL IDs are identical to traditional licenses and IDs, except for the addition of a star symbol in the top right corner. Licenses and IDs without a star are noted “Not for Federal Purposes.”
Do I need a REAL ID?
The NCDOT reminded the public that switching to a REAL ID is not mandatory. However, you may want an NC REAL ID if you fly frequently or regularly visit:
- Military bases
- Nuclear sites
- Federal prisons
- Federal courthouses
- Other federal facilities
You may still be able to board flights or make visits to the above facilities, but you will likely need to provide additional documentation with your traditional license or ID such as a passport.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].
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