Thousands of Michigan residents have received driver's licenses featuring a stranger's face and a random date of birth due to a printing error. The misprint impacted around 8,200 individuals who had recently applied for or renewed their licenses.
The Michigan Secretary of State's office confirmed the error was linked to their vendor, IDEMIA, a French technology company responsible for producing the cards. The misprinted licenses display a stock photo and a generic date of birth in the lower right-hand corner, rather than the cardholder's information. Officials emphasized that the generic information does not belong to another Michigan resident.
Lanita Nelson, a Michigan resident, discovered the error when her enhanced license arrived. "I kept looking and I was like, 'That's a man in the bottom corner.' And I keep looking, and he's smiling. I'm like, 'What's going on?'" Nelson told CBS News. Her post on social media revealed that many other residents were experiencing the same issue.
This incident is not the first controversy involving IDEMIA. In July, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill publicly criticized the company for a "serious software error" that resulted in over 6,000 noncitizens registering to vote due to a system glitch affecting voter rolls between June 2023 and 2024. Governor Sherrill deemed the mistake "unacceptable," and state officials announced plans to switch vendors.
The Michigan Department of State stated that new, correctly printed licenses have been mailed to all affected individuals and that no action is required from customers. The department advised residents who received a misprinted license to obtain a temporary license online or by visiting a Secretary of State branch office while awaiting the replacement card. Concerns were raised by some residents regarding the potential for issues if stopped by law enforcement while in possession of the misprinted identification.