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PRESTONSBURG — A new Kentucky driver’s license, which has been promoted as offering greater privacy protection and improved security features, is now available in Floyd County.

The licenses were announced in July and offer multiple layers of security features, all linked with each other, to prevent counterfeits and forgeries. Anyone attempting to subvert the licenses would have to compromise multiple technologies, not just one.

Floyd County Circuit Clerk Douglas Ray Hall said this week that while the Floyd County driver’s licensing office now has the equipment to create the new licenses, it is not neccesary for people to replace them prematurely.

“The expiration date is still good,” says Hall. “You don’t have to replace your license until your current one expires.” Hall added that the price to renew one’s driver’s license is still $20.

The new Kentucky drivers license offers security features such as:

• Digital watermark imperceptible to the human eye

• Bank note-level fine line printing

• Improved dual-side lamination for greater tamper resistance and durability

• Hologram with single-color, ultraviolet “ghost” image

The state of Kentucky’s last driver’s license update came in 2001 with the introduction of digital licenses, which offered imporved security over past paper licenses. Kentucky was the first state which put the driver’s image into the bar code on the back of the license.

“The new licenses are the manifestation of Kentucky’s efforts to improve the level of service provided to our customers, in addition to securing a credential Kentuckians use each day,” said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Department of Vehicle Regulation Commissioner Tom Zawacki in early August.

“It was already time to replace the cameras and computer equipment – most of it more than 10 years old – that our circuit court clerks use in issuing driver’s licenses,” said Zawacki. “That made it an ideal time to also make this transition to a new license.”

Licenses will also feature veteran and organ donor designations.

Installation of the new cameras and computer equipment has now been completed in both Floyd, Pike, and Martin counties.

For more information and answers to some frequently asked questions visit the KYTC’s website: http://transportation.ky.gov/pages/digital-drivers-license.aspx.