What's up with that salamander on your new North Carolina driver's license? (2024)

Rolling foothills in green and yellow, a pink dogwood, a blue and white-striped lighthouse and a Colonial Spanish Mustang grazing along a beach all grace North Carolina’s new driver’s licenses and other identification cards.

Oh, and a marbled salamander.

Although some of those picks may seem a bit unconventional, there’s a reason behind their inclusion on North Carolina’s IDs.

The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles recently unveiled the new design, which features state symbols for driver’s licenses, permits and IDs. NCDMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin said the state’s vendor will be transitioning DMV offices to the new design throughout the month of June. It’s projected to be available statewide by July 1. Licenses and ID cards with the old design will remain valid until the expiration date.

The images are intended to be a combination of popular state symbols and other attractions associated with North Carolina. The state flag, outline and state flower fall under the more common and popular symbols.

Near the top of the design, a lighthouse stands guard by the identification number. Crawling along the edge of the dogwood flower, the black-and-white marbled salamander rests on the edge of the card. The owner’s name will be printed wrapping around the edge of the salamander’s tail.

The marbled salamander is a nocturnal species that can be found statewide, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. Because of how common it is, the salamander is recognized as the official state salamander — though the title is relatively new. It received the designation on June 26, 2013.

On the back of the card, the Mustang represents the animal that can be found on some North Carolina beaches. Meanwhile, the hills in the background of the license are reminiscent of the geography of the western part of the state.

“I encourage folks when they receive their new identification to look at it closely,” Goodwin said. “You may see some symbols the state has never used before that make it also a more secure credential.”

Not only will the cards look different from years past, but they will feel different, too. Instead of a typical plastic card, the new driver’s licenses and IDs will be 100 percent polycarbonate and produced using laser engraving technology.

Goodwin said the change in material allows law enforcement officers to better detect fake IDs and increases the durability of the cards.

“If you drop the new card on a tabletop, it’ll make a unique metallic sound, unlike with any card previously designed for North Carolinians,” he said.

Over the course of almost two years, the DMV worked with its vendor on the new design. The last time North Carolina modified the cards was in 2015, and according to Goodwin, those changes were not as dramatic as this year’s.

Goodwin said the state changes driver’s licenses and state IDs periodically as a way to prevent fake IDs and stolen identities. He added that this year’s design is North Carolina’s “most secure credential” in state history because of the look and material that are among more than 50 security features of the new card.

Juanita Isaac, a resident of High Point, said she appreciates the DMV’s efforts to make IDs more secure, especially as her concerns about safety and fake IDs increased from seeing cases in the news.

Greensboro resident Alyssa Yancy, 21, said she was not a fan of the new design, but she likes certain detailing, especially the inclusion of the salamander. However, Yancy was skeptical about the long-term effectiveness of the security features.

“I feel like that’s never going to work,” she said. “Once you invent something new, people are always going to find a way around it. That’s how society is.”