Why do US driving Licences have weight, height and eye colour on them?

22 comments

1. [deleted]

2. We do not have a federal ID other than a passport which is not handy to carry, so for almost all identification stuff we use our drivers license (or similar state ID). As such, it provides plenty of info as it serves more function than just a drivers license.

   I don’t know, but I assume your drivers licenses are tied into an additional database.

3. Because if you have a license that says you’re 6′ tall, black haired, and blue eyed but the person you’re looking at is 5’9″, red haired, and green eyed, it’s a good tip-off that the ID is fake and the person is lying about their identity.

4. Median growth for 16-20 is 3 cm for males and <1 cm for females.

   But appearances do change, more bizarre for us is CVs in (continental) Europe including photos.

5. Drivers licenses are commonly used as ID cards and so it makes sense to have more information on them. Here is what is on my drivers license (but this will not be true for everyone as these things are issued by states): drivers license number, issue date, expiration date, license class, date of birth, first name, last name, restrictions (like, I have bad eyesight so I am restricted from driving without corrective lenses), height, sex, eye color, and something called end which I have no idea about. It also says I am an organ donor.

   e: oh yes there is also a photo of me on the license

6. So, men like myself that are 5’11, can lie and officially be 6’0” tall.

   In all seriousness its to confirm who you are. You might look similar to the person in the picture but have significantly different weight, or heights or eye color. It’s for identification purposes, might as well have some clear identifiers.

7. So you can change all those stuff but you can’t change your address? Because it’s a good physical description and identification should something happen

8. We aren’t as trusting…

9. Not all states have this info on our licenses, and Americans are licensed by our states, not at the federal level. Iirc, it’s required for the Real ID (which most people get because it serves as an ID anywhere in the country), but it’s not on my South Carolina driver’s license that I need to get renewed/updated to the Real ID version.

10. Was curious because of this and did some brief googling.

    Apparently some states require a license update with significant weight change.

11. Biometric identification is important. However, as others have said the several states don’t have a single standard for what’s on an ID card or a driver’s license.

12. Our driver’s licenses are also IDs, and thus having information like that makes it easy to spot when someone else is using a stolen card.

13. Florida doesn’t have weight

14. It’s used a lot in police work. If you find a body that’s five foot ten and male and you have a bunch of missing persons reports with that detail on their licences then you can quickly eliminate many of them. It’s not any of the women and it’s not the five six guys or the six foot two guys, etc.

    If there is a crime and a witness gives a description of a suspect and maybe even knows their first name, a search of the driver’s license database can help identify that suspect. The first name by itself isn’t going to help much but if you add in details like height and gender, and eye color if you’re lucky, you can start to narrow things down.

    You can’t tell how tall someone is from a neck-up picture. And you can’t tell their build either. Height and weight gives you a sense of that.

    As others have said, it’s not just a driver’s license in the U.S., it’s the most standard and basic identity document we carry. There is no other (widely used). No one carries a passport in day to day life. Other documents are only useful in limited situations, like a student ID. The driver’s license and the equivalent state ID card, which is basically the same thing just without driving privileges, are the go-to legal identifiers.

15. We do not have a federal I.D. We commonly use our driver’s license as an I.D. if you don’t drive then many states have a state I.D., but most people just use a driver’s license

16. Partially It’s a throwback to when licenses didn’t have photos on them. I was in college from 82 through 86, a friend from New Jersey’s license didn’t have his picture. Apparently they didn’t start using photos til 84

17. If your ass breaks the law and is on the run from the police it’s a good record record with a decently accurate description. Sure, weight fluctuates but you’re not likely to swing 100+ lbs in the time between when you update your license and when it expires.

18. > almost no-one here even knows their own height, let alone the government knowing.

    I find it incredibly odd that you expect us to believe this. Everyone knows their height. Also, Americans aren’t the only ones who have a person’s descriptors on IDs. I have a German immigrant visa and written on the back is my height and my eye color, along with my nationality.

19. >I suppose at the end of the say, the answer like many differences is, it’s an American thing

    False. The UK is unique in this regard. Many countries have the same information because many countries allows police officers to stop you for pretty much any reason, ID yourself, and verify that you match that ID.

    The UK is more lax on this, and are the outliers here.

20. I find that not true that almost no one knows their own height

21. >almost no one here even knows their own height

    That’s…pretty shocking to be honest.

22. In Washington state, I think a license to drive is an endorsement on your state ID

    I have never learned to drive and my state ID looks exactly like a license but with one small difference

    Mine says identification card rather than drivers license.