Fake I.D.s may soon be a thing of the past.

The state of Iowa has a new digitized photo license system that will replace the old licenses starting at the end of this year, said Terry Dillinger of the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Every card will have a colored heading and photo border to identify which type of license the holder has. The colors are: blue headings for driver licenses, maroon for nondriver identification cards and green for commercial driver licenses.

Also, each new card will have a magnetized strip on the back that contains all of the information on the front of the card. The strip will be electronically read and printed during citations or accident reports, Dillinger said.

Underage drinkers will also be more easily identified. Under the photo of the minor, the license will read, “Under 21 until …” in red print. All licenses will have the holder’s date of birth and the expiration date of the license in red print.

Captain Rob Bowers of the Iowa State Department of Public Safety said the new licenses will make certain aspects of the job easier for all law enforcement officers.

“The red ‘Under 21’ section will provide immediate identification of a minor. This and the color-coded headings will make it very difficult to counterfeit and to change the date of birth,” Bowers said.

Bowers said the impact the new licenses will have on fake I.D.s is unknown. However, he said it will be very difficult to manufacture a fake I.D.

Tom Oxley of the Ames Police Department said in the past individuals who wanted a fake I.D. would take someone else’s birth certificate to the DOT and get their picture taken with it. Oxley said the new licenses will eliminate that because photo and license information will all be on the DOT computers.

The new licenses will also have a larger photo of the holder to ensure more protection against fraud.

“The photo will be larger so it will be easier to identify the person,” Oxley said.

However, because old licenses will still be around for up to eight more years, Oxley said, it will be a slow process to cut down on the number of fake I.D.s.