United States — Driver License Barcode (AAMVA PDF417)

The United States Driver License Barcode API decodes, standardizes, and validates the PDF417 two-dimensional barcode embedded on the reverse of driver licenses and identification cards issued by all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and US territories.

Engineered to comply with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Card Design Standard (CDS), the API extracts demographics, document identifiers, expiration dates, REAL ID compliance indicators, and machine-readable data subfiles from either raw scanner output or camera image captures.

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API Reference

Endpoint

POST https://api.verifik.co/v2/usa/driver-license/barcode

Parse and extract structured identity data from a rear US driver license barcode payload or image.

Headers

Name	Value	Description
Content-Type	application/json	Request payload format
Accept	application/json	Response format
Authorization	Bearer <token>	Client JWT authentication token

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
rawBarcode	string	Conditional	Raw ANSI/AAMVA PDF417 text string obtained from a hardware 2D barcode scanner or client SDK. Required if backImage is omitted.
backImage	string	Conditional	Base64-encoded image string or public HTTPS URL of the rear side of the driver license. Required if rawBarcode is omitted.
licenseNumber	string	No	Expected driver license number to confirm matching during parsing.
state	string	No	Expected two-letter US state postal abbreviation (e.g., CA, FL, NY, TX).

---

Request

Node.js / JavaScript

import axios from "axios";

const options = {
  method: "POST",
  url: "https://api.verifik.co/v2/usa/driver-license/barcode",
  data: {
    backImage: "https://cdn.example.com/id-back-california.jpg",
    state: "CA",
  },
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Accept: "application/json",
    Authorization: "Bearer <your_token>",
  },
};

try {
  const { data } = await axios.request(options);
  console.log(data);
} catch (error) {
  console.error(error.response ? error.response.data : error.message);
}

Python

import requests

url = "https://api.verifik.co/v2/usa/driver-license/barcode"
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    "Accept": "application/json",
    "Authorization": "Bearer <your_token>"
}
payload = {
    "rawBarcode": "@\n\u001e\rANSI 636014080002DL00410278ZA03190014DLDAQD1234567\n...",
    "state": "CA"
}

response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=payload)
print(response.json())

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.verifik.co/v2/usa/driver-license/barcode" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Accept: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer <your_token>" \
  -d '{
    "backImage": "https://cdn.example.com/id-back-california.jpg",
    "state": "CA"
  }'

---

Response

200 (Barcode Decoded Successfully)

{
  "data": {
    "iin": "636014",
    "issuerName": "California",
    "state": "CA",
    "licenseNumber": "D1234567",
    "firstName": "JOHN",
    "middleName": "QUINCY",
    "lastName": "PUBLIC",
    "dateOfBirth": "1990-01-15",
    "age": 36,
    "expirationDate": "2028-01-15",
    "issueDate": "2023-01-15",
    "isExpired": false,
    "isRealIdCompliant": true,
    "address": {
      "street": "123 EL CAMINO REAL",
      "city": "SACRAMENTO",
      "state": "CA",
      "postalCode": "95814"
    },
    "licenseClass": "C",
    "endorsements": "NONE",
    "restrictions": "NONE",
    "sex": "M",
    "height": "5-10",
    "eyeColor": "BRO",
    "rawAamva": {
      "DCA": "C",
      "DCB": "NONE",
      "DCD": "NONE",
      "DBA": "20280115",
      "DCS": "PUBLIC",
      "DAC": "JOHN",
      "DAD": "QUINCY",
      "DBD": "20230115",
      "DBB": "19900115",
      "DBC": "1",
      "DAY": "BRO",
      "DAU": "070 in",
      "DAG": "123 EL CAMINO REAL",
      "DAI": "SACRAMENTO",
      "DAJ": "CA",
      "DAK": "958140000",
      "DAQ": "D1234567"
    }
  },
  "signature": {
    "dateTime": "October 31, 2026 12:00 AM",
    "message": "Certified by Verifik.co"
  }
}

400 (Bad Request)

{
  "code": "MissingParameter",
  "message": "Either rawBarcode or backImage must be provided."
}

422 (Unprocessable Entity)

{
  "code": "UnreadableBarcode",
  "message": "Could not detect or decode a valid AAMVA PDF417 barcode from the provided image. Please ensure sufficient lighting and focus."
}

500 (Internal Server Error)

{
  "code": "InternalServerError",
  "message": "An error occurred while processing the barcode data. Please retry."
}

---

Notes

• AAMVA Issuer Identification Number (IIN): The 6-digit numeric prefix identifies the issuing jurisdiction (e.g., 636014 designates California, 636010 designates Florida, 636001 designates New York) under official motor vehicle administration standards.
• REAL ID Verification: Documents marked isRealIdCompliant: true satisfy federal statutory standards under the REAL ID Act for domestic airline boarding and federal building access.
• Calculated Age & Expiration: The endpoint automatically calculates subject age from the decoded date of birth and computes real-time isExpired boolean status against the current UTC date.