Change to NZ driver's licences will make fake IDs trickier than ever

Bad news for anyone relying on a dodgy fake ID - it just got a whole lot harder to pull off.

Moving forward, new New Zealand driver's licences will come with an extra layer of security on the card - age verification embossing.

The New Zealand Transport Agency confirmed your birth date will now be visible over your licence photo.

“The embossing provides a secondary verification of the driver's date of birth, which is already printed beside the photo,” the agency wrote.

NZTA adds that the feature is already widely used overseas, and acts as a second way to verify your age that’s more difficult to tamper with.

“The embossing isn’t easily replicated, which is a great way for us to reduce the opportunity for fraud. It also means the photo on a card can’t easily be modified, and it provides an extra verification of the driver’s date of birth.”

What the new NZ Driver’s licence means for you

Before you go panic-checking your wallet for your licence, you don’t need to do anything yet.

Your current licence is still valid until it expires. The change only applies to new licences or renewals issued from now on.

Digital licences are still coming to NZ

This update doesn’t impact plans for digital driver licences, which are still in the pipeline.

Even when digital licences do roll out, you will still have the option for a physical card.

The agency adds that the addition won’t add a cost to the manufacturing process

“This is a new security feature our license manufacturer can do for us,” they wrote. “It doesn’t cost us anything to add to our manufacturing process, so it’s a no-brainer for us.”

Okay, now you can go search your wallet to find out when you’ll need this new embossed version.