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license a valid form of identification for most purposes. For example, a driver’s
license with the proper date of birth will allow entry into a tavern restricted to
those 21 and older. The photo and address on the license may be used to
support a decision by the local grocer to accept a personal check. In this
example, the clerk will compare the shopper’s face with the photograph on the
license, and may record his or her address (along with phone number) as addi-
tional information to confirm the shopper’s identity.
The driver’s license is, of course, also used for its intended purpose in veri-
fying both the identification of a driver and his or her legal authority to operate
a motor vehicle. When a police officer pulls over a driver for a perceived traffic
violation, the officer will ask for the driver’s license and will convey the infor-
mation on the license to police headquarters. The information is then passed
on to the state Department of Motor Vehicles and a report is delivered back
to the officer. In one possible scenario, the officer may learn that the owner of
the driver’s license is authorized to operate a motor vehicle in that state, but
the information about the owner may not match the information on the license.
Closer inspection might reveal that the photo on the license does not match
the driver. The license is valid, but it does not belong to the person stopped by
the officer. If the person driving the car is not the person on the license, then
who is the driver? Is the driver dangerous? A wanted fugitive? Is the officer’s
life in danger? These last three questions are the ones that promote immedi-
ate action by the officer as the arrest takes place.
Some may ask, “What’s the big deal? It’s only a driver’s license.” After the
events of September 11, 2001, however, all sense of security changed. While
most driver’s licenses are valid, there are numerous instances of fraudulent
driver’s licenses, such as the example in the following AP story. 1

Thursday, Jul. 3, 2003—5:27 AM
By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP)—Two clerks at the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
and four associates have been charged with helping more than 1,000 people obtain
fraudulent Virginia driver’s licenses over a five-year period, prosecutors announced
Wednesday.
Under the alleged scheme, people who could not obtain legitimate driver’s
licenses would pay $800 to $2,000 for the fraudulent licenses.

Several of the terrorists involved in the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center
attacks obtained false Virginia driver’s licenses, allegedly with the help of the
2
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and legal personnel. There are

1 See http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=25&sid=98856.
2 See http://www.valawyersweekly.com/terrorist.htm.