Cape County license bureaus roll out new permits

Beginning Thursday, the Cape Girardeau and Jackson license bureaus will issue revamped driver documents in a new format with enhanced security features.

The biggest change will be the addition of a small "ghost portrait" next to the main photo. The extra picture is one of several enhanced security measures intended to help law enforcement find fake IDs and prevent identity fraud.

The new licenses and identification cards were first issued in the Jefferson City office in April. Cape Girardeau County was not part of the early rollout because the county has an agent office, meaning the governor appoints a person to run it, and that person gets extra fees from the transactions. The Cape Girardeau office, located on Spanish Street, isn't a formal part of the Department of Revenue.

Other additions to the new licenses are another outline of the state and the words "Show Me" across the front of the license. Both are visible only in ultraviolet light. Missouri Department of Revenue officials are touting the new cards as some of the most secure driver and non-driver documents in the nation.

Besides licenses, a new look also will be on driver learning permits and state identification cards for nondrivers. Instead of the rough surface on the existing license, the new one will be slick, almost like a credit card.

The magnetic strip on the back of existing licenses -- which contains no information -- is being replaced by a bar code containing the same information that is on the front.