Privacy • Security
Why Redacting the Front of Your Driver's License Isn't Enough
That barcode on the back? It contains everything. Your name, address, date of birth, license number — all machine-readable.
You carefully black out your name, address, and license number on the front of your driver's license. You feel protected. You share the image.
You've just exposed everything you tried to hide.
That rectangular barcode on the back of your license — the one most people ignore — contains your complete personal information in machine-readable format. Anyone with a free barcode scanner app can extract it in seconds.
What's Actually in That Barcode?
The barcode on the back of U.S. driver's licenses uses a format called PDF417. It's a 2D barcode that stores a remarkable amount of data:
- Full legal name
- Date of birth
- Complete address
- Driver's license number
- License expiration date
- Physical characteristics (height, weight, eye color)
- License class and restrictions
- Issue date
In other words: everything on the front, plus more — all encoded in that single barcode.
Critical: Even if you perfectly redact every character on the front of your license, the barcode on the back contains a complete copy of all that information. Redacting only one side is the same as redacting nothing.
Why This Matters
People share photos of their driver's licenses more often than you'd think:
- Verifying identity for online services
- Sending to employers or landlords
- Sharing with insurance companies
- Age verification for purchases
- Travel and booking confirmations
In all these cases, the instinct is to black out sensitive info on the front. But if you're sharing both sides — or if the back is visible — the barcode defeats the purpose entirely.
How to Properly Redact a Driver's License
Complete driver's license redaction requires attention to both sides:
Front of license:
- Driver's license number
- Address
- Date of birth (if not needed)
- Photo (if not needed for verification)
- Signature
Back of license:
- The entire PDF417 barcode — completely obscured
- Any magnetic stripe
- Any secondary barcodes
Tip: When redacting the barcode, make sure your redaction tool actually removes the underlying data — not just overlays a black box. SafeRedact uses pixel-level destruction to ensure the barcode data is permanently eliminated.
The Bottom Line
If you're only redacting the front of a driver's license, you're creating a false sense of security. The barcode on the back is a complete backup of your personal information, designed to be read by machines.
Always redact both sides. Always verify the barcode is completely obscured. Your identity depends on it.
Redact both sides in seconds
SafeRedact automatically detects barcodes and PII on driver's licenses.
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