Form of license - information shown - digital image required, exception - ...
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 302.181
in effect302.181. Form of license — information shown — digital image required, exception — temporary license — nondriver's license, fee, duration — exception — digital driver's license program, requirements — rulemaking authority. — 1. The license issued pursuant to the provisions of sections 302.010 to 302.340 shall be in such form as the director shall prescribe, but the license shall be a card made of plastic or other comparable material. All licenses shall be manufactured of materials and processes that will prohibit, as nearly as possible, the ability to reproduce, alter, counterfeit, forge, or duplicate any license without ready detection. The license shall also bear the expiration date of the license, the classification of the license, the name, date of birth, residence address including the county of residence or a code number corresponding to such county established by the department, and brief description and colored digitized image of the licensee, and a facsimile of the signature of the licensee. The director shall provide by administrative rule the procedure and format for a licensee to indicate on the back of the license together with the designation for an anatomical gift as provided in section 194.240 the name and address of the person designated pursuant to sections 404.800 to 404.865 as the licensee's attorney in fact for the purposes of a durable power of attorney for health care decisions. No license shall be valid until it has been so signed by the licensee. If any portion of the license is prepared by a private firm, any contract with such firm shall be made in accordance with the competitive purchasing procedures as established by the state director of the division of purchasing.
2. All digital images produced for licenses shall become the property of the department of revenue.
3. The license issued shall be carried at all times by the holder thereof while driving a motor vehicle, and shall be displayed upon demand of any officer of the highway patrol, or any police officer or peace officer, or any other duly authorized person, for inspection when demand is made therefor. Failure of any operator of a motor vehicle to exhibit his or her license to any duly authorized officer shall be presumptive evidence that such person is not a duly licensed operator.
4. The director of revenue shall not issue a license without a facial digital image of the license applicant, except as provided pursuant to subsection 7 of this section. A digital image of the applicant's full facial features shall be taken in a manner prescribed by the director. No digital image shall be taken wearing anything which cloaks the facial features of the individual.
5. The department of revenue may issue a temporary license or a full license without the photograph or with the last photograph or digital image in the department's records to members of the Armed Forces, except that where such temporary license is issued it shall be valid only until the applicant shall have had time to appear and have his or her picture taken and a license with his or her photograph issued.
6. The department of revenue shall issue upon request a nondriver's license card containing essentially the same information and photograph or digital image, except as provided pursuant to subsection 7 of this section, as the driver's license upon payment of six dollars. All nondriver's licenses shall expire on the applicant's birthday in the sixth year after issuance. A person who has passed his or her seventieth birthday shall upon application be issued a nonexpiring nondriver's license card. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a nondriver's license containing a concealed carry endorsement shall expire three years from the date the certificate of qualification was issued pursuant to section 571.101 , as section 571.101 existed prior to August 28, 2013. The fee for nondriver's licenses issued for a period exceeding three years is six dollars or three dollars for nondriver's licenses issued for a period of three years or less. The nondriver's license card shall be used for identification purposes only and shall not be valid as a license.
7. If otherwise eligible, an applicant may receive a driver's license or nondriver's license without a photograph or digital image of the applicant's full facial features except that such applicant's photograph or digital image shall be taken and maintained by the director and not printed on such license. In order to qualify for a license without a photograph or digital image pursuant to this section the applicant must:
(1) Present a form provided by the department of revenue requesting the applicant's photograph be omitted from the license or nondriver's license due to religious affiliations. The form shall be signed by the applicant and another member of the religious tenant verifying the photograph or digital image exemption on the license or nondriver's license is required as part of their religious affiliation. The required signatures on the prescribed form shall be properly notarized;
(2) Provide satisfactory proof to the director that the applicant has been a United States citizen for at least five years and a resident of this state for at least one year, except that an applicant moving to this state possessing a valid driver's license from another state without a photograph shall be exempt from the one-year state residency requirement. The director may establish rules necessary to determine satisfactory proof of citizenship and residency pursuant to this section;
(3) Applications for a driver's license or nondriver's license without a photograph or digital image must be made in person at a license office determined by the director. The director is authorized to limit the number of offices that may issue a driver's or nondriver's license without a photograph or digital image pursuant to this section.
8. The department of revenue shall make available, at one or more locations within the state, an opportunity for individuals to have their full facial photograph taken by an employee of the department of revenue, or their designee, who is of the same sex as the individual being photographed, in a segregated location.
9. Beginning July 1, 2005, the director shall not issue a driver's license or a nondriver's license for a period that exceeds an applicant's lawful presence in the United States. The director may, by rule or regulation, establish procedures to verify the lawful presence of the applicant and establish the duration of any driver's license or nondriver's license issued under this section.
10. (1) Notwithstanding any biometric data restrictions contained in section 302.170 , the department of revenue is hereby authorized to design and implement a secure digital driver's license program that allows applicants applying for a driver's license in accordance with this chapter to obtain a secure digital driver's license in addition to the physical card-based license specified in this section.
(2) A digital driver's license as described in this subsection shall be accepted for all purposes for which a license, as defined in section 302.010 , is used.
(3) The department may contract with one or more entities to develop the secure digital driver's license system. The department or entity may develop a mobile software application capable of being utilized through a person's electronic device to access the person's secure digital driver's license.
(4) The department shall suspend, disable, or terminate a person's participation in the secure digital driver's license program if:
(a) The person's driving privilege is suspended, revoked, denied, withdrawn, or cancelled as provided in this chapter; or
(b) The person reports that the person's electronic device has been lost, stolen, or compromised.
11. The director of the department of revenue may promulgate rules as necessary for the implementation of this section. Any rule or portion of a rule, as that term is defined in section 536.010 that is created under the authority delegated in this section shall become effective only if it complies with and is subject to all of the provisions of chapter 536 and, if applicable, section 536.028 . This section and chapter 536 are nonseverable and if any of the powers vested with the general assembly pursuant to chapter 536 to review, to delay the effective date, or to disapprove and annul a rule are subsequently held unconstitutional, then the grant of rulemaking authority and any rule proposed or adopted after August 28, 2020, shall be invalid and void.
(RSMo 1939 §§ 8372, 8452, A.L. 1951 p. 678 § 302.180, A.L. 1961 p. 487, A.L. 1971 H.B. 365, A.L. 1973 H.B. 278, A.L. 1979 S.B. 160, A.L. 1984 H.B. 1045, A.L. 1986 S.B. 523, A.L. 1989 1st Ex. Sess. H.B. 3, A.L. 1991 H.B. 202 & 364, A.L. 1992 H.B. 958, A.L. 1995 S.B. 24, A.L. 1996 H.B. 1315, A.L. 1999 S.B. 19, A.L. 2004 S.B. 1233, et al., A.L. 2011 H.B. 294, et al., A.L. 2013 S.B. 75, A.L. 2020 H.B. 1963) Prior revision: 1929 § 7765
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=302.181Fetched: 10/17/2026