Is the photo on the driver's license pasted on?
4 Answers
The photo on the driver's license is not pasted on. Drivers cannot arbitrarily change the photo on their driver's license due to personal preferences, as doing so would constitute the illegal act of altering a motor vehicle driver's license. Here is the relevant information: The "Road Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that forging, altering, or using forged or altered motor vehicle registration certificates, license plates, driving permits, or driver's licenses will result in confiscation by the traffic management department of the public security organ, detention of the vehicle, detention for up to 15 days, and a fine ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 yuan; if it constitutes a crime, criminal responsibility will be pursued according to the law. Additional information: Pasting one's own photo onto another person's driver's license is also an illegal act. A motor vehicle driver's license is a legal certificate issued by the relevant administrative department after passing the required tests, permitting the holder to drive certain types of motor vehicles. The name, ID number, photo, and other details recorded on the license cannot be arbitrarily altered by others.
In the past, old-style driver's licenses indeed had manually pasted photos, and you had to bring your own photo to the DMV every time you renewed it. The new version of the license is completely different now—the photo is directly printed on the plastic card, located right next to your personal information section. I've carefully examined my own license, and the photo is seamlessly integrated with the card surface, with even anti-counterfeiting microtext printed over the photo area. This printing method has an advantage: it won’t get damaged even if wiped with a wet cloth, and the issue of the photo peeling off in the summer heat inside the car will never happen again. Now, replacing a lost license is even more convenient—after taking your photo on-site, the entire card production process is completed, so you no longer have to worry about the photo being pasted crookedly.
I saw my dad's old driver's license from ten years ago, and the photo was literally glued on, with red seals stamped on all four corners. The new booklet we get now is completely different—the photo is directly printed on cardstock material with a wear-resistant film on the surface. Last time I helped a friend replace a lost license, the DMV system directly pulled the photo from the ID photo database, and a new card with laser anti-counterfeiting features could be printed in minutes. Back then, we used to laminate the photo to prevent it from falling off, but now it's completely unnecessary. This printing technology also prevents unauthorized photo swaps. Have you noticed? The driver's license photo now has a gradient-colored serial number in the top-left corner, which is directly linked to the archival system.
As someone who frequently drives long distances, my driver's license gets checked several times a day. The old version with a glued-on photo was the most annoying - once it got soaked in the rain and the photo curled at the edges, almost making the traffic police think it was fake. The current card-style license is real progress, with photos directly color laser-printed as durable as a bank card. This printing technology even hides dynamic codes within the photo - shining a UV light reveals name initials. But a reminder: don't use corrosive cleaners on your license when washing your car - I've seen people rub the photo coating into a blur. For newly issued licenses, I recommend taking a phone photo as backup; you'll need the original photo information for replacements.
