Clark County residents who have driver’s licenses that expire Sept. 27 need to make sure and renew them before that date.
The Clark County Circuit Court Clerk’s office will not be able to issue any licenses on Sept. 27 while new software and cameras are being installed that will enable the office to issue the state’s new security-enhanced licenses.
The move affects only the driver’s license issuance, Clark Circuit Court Clerk Paula Joslin said, while all other operations of the office will be open as usual.
The new driver’s license will be available the following day.
In July, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Vehicle Regulation began the transition to the new driver’s license which, while similar to the current licenses, contains added security features and is more tamper resistant.
“The new licenses are the manifestation of Kentucky’s efforts to improve the level of service provided to our customers, in addition to securing a credential Kentuckians use each day,” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Vehicle Regulation Commissioner Tom Zawacki said in a news release.
The new license has multiple layers of security features, all linked to each other, so counterfeiters must compromise multiple technologies, not just one.
Features include:
— a new digital watermark imperceptible to the human eye;
— bank note-level fine line printing;
— improved dual-side lamination for greater tamper resistance and durability;
— a hologram with a single-color, ultraviolet “ghost” image.
The new licenses also feature “veteran” and “organ donor” designations. Residents are not required to obtain new licenses before current licenses expire, and the process for obtaining or renewing a license will not change, nor will the cost, which remains $20.
This is the first change to Kentucky’s driver’s licenses since 2001 when it introduced the digital licenses.
Contact Bob Flynn at bflynn@winchestersun.com.
