Overview
- The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles began issuing the new credentials at service centers statewide on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
- The front of the card shows Castillo de San Marcos with an orange used as the “O” in Florida, a manatee in the lower left and an alligator embedded in the REAL ID star while the back features Space Shuttle Discovery and the motto “Let Us Alone.”
- New anti‑fraud measures include redundant data, tactile features, ultraviolet ink, an embedded state seal and image elements that change with tilt, building on a prior overhaul that substantially increased fraud protections.
- Residents do not need to replace current cards until they expire and the FLHSMV says online ordering through MyDMVPortal will open by early November, though at least one report has said the end of November.
- The design adds credential markers such as a “Temporary Non‑Domiciled” label for some commercial licenses plus colored headers and under‑21 formatting, a change that should affect how businesses and federal agencies verify Florida IDs as the state phases in the new cards.