idcheck.now
WI · Driver's license verification

Verify Wisconsin driver's licenses

Capture a Wisconsin license front and back and idcheck.now decodes the AAMVA PDF417 barcode, validates the 1 letter + 13 digits license number by recomputing it from the holder's name and birthdate, and cross-checks every encoded field against the printed card.

AAMVA v01–v12 Soundex + DOB recomputation DLDV add-on
Start verifying free Live demo
What we check

Every layer we run on a Wisconsin license

These checks run on every Wisconsin verification — no per-feature upsell on the core flow.

  • AAMVA PDF417 decode

    Full CDS v01–v12 parse of the Wisconsin barcode — decoded live in the browser and again independently server-side. Any mismatch is a tamper signal.

  • Mandatory-field enforcement

    DCS, DAC, DBB, DBA, DAQ, and address elements must be present and well-formed per the AAMVA CDS.

  • License-number recomputation

    The Wisconsin number is recomputed from the holder's surname (Soundex), first/middle name codes, birth year, and day code — then compared to the barcode's DAQ field segment by segment.

  • Barcode ↔ OCR cross-check

    Encoded fields are compared against the printed visual zone — name, DOB, expiry, and license number must agree.

  • Expiry & age validation

    DBA (expiration) is enforced against the validity window; DBB (birth date) drives per-session age thresholds.

  • Issuing-authority IIN check

    The issuer identification number in the barcode header is checked against Wisconsin's AAMVA issuer record.

  • DMV verification (DLDV add-on)

    Wisconsin participates in AAMVA DLDV — a live check of license number, name, and DOB against the state DMV record, enableable as an add-on.

License-number format

The Wisconsin license-number format

1 letter + 13 digits

The barcode's DAQ element carries the license number. idcheck.now validates it against the published Wisconsin pattern as a plausibility signal — formats drift over time and legacy cards remain in circulation, so a format miss is a warning fed into the composite score, not an automatic decline.

For Wisconsin, this is only the first step: the number is also recomputed from the holder's identity — see the deep dive below.

Fraud deep dive

Wisconsin license numbers encode name and birthdate

SSSS FFF Y Y DDD N N

Wisconsin's 14-character number starts like Florida's: the Soundex code of the surname (4 characters), a three-digit first-name + middle-initial code from the Gallian table, the two-digit birth year, and a day code of (month − 1) × 40 + day with 500 added for female holders.

The final two characters are a sequential tie-break and a check digit whose algorithm is not publicly documented — idcheck.now validates the first twelve characters, which are fully derived from the holder's identity.

A fake Wisconsin license with a random number fails the Soundex, name-code, year, and day-code comparisons independently, and the day code also cross-encodes the holder's sex.

Inside the barcode

What the Wisconsin PDF417 barcode tells us

A sample of the AAMVA CDS elements decoded from every Wisconsin barcode, and what each one feeds into.

ElementMeaningHow idcheck.now uses it
DAQ Customer ID / license number The license number itself — validated against the state format and, for FL/IL/WI/MO, recomputed from the holder's identity.
DCS Customer family name Mandatory. Soundex-encoded into the license number in FL/IL/WI; cross-checked against the printed card everywhere.
DAC Customer first name Mandatory. Mapped to a first-name code (Gallian table) inside FL/IL/WI license numbers.
DBB Date of birth Mandatory. Encoded into the FL/IL/WI day-code segment and the Missouri trailing digits; drives age checks.
DBA Document expiration date Mandatory. Enforced against the document validity window on every verification.
State DMV verification

AAMVA DLDV for Wisconsin

DLDV participant

Wisconsin participates in AAMVA's DLDV program. As an add-on, idcheck.now can submit the license number, name, and date of birth to the Wisconsin DMV through DLDV and return the state's own verdict — the strongest confirmation short of an in-person check.

Most US jurisdictions participate in DLDV; participant lists and response fields change over time. Confirm availability for Wisconsin at integration time.

FAQ

Wisconsin verification questions

What format is a Wisconsin driver's license number?

Wisconsin driver's license numbers are 1 letter + 13 digits. idcheck.now validates the barcode's DAQ field against this pattern on every verification; older card layouts still in circulation are handled as plausibility warnings rather than hard failures.

Can a fake Wisconsin license number pass idcheck.now?

Not easily. Wisconsin derives license numbers from the holder's surname (Soundex), first and middle names (Gallian code table), birth year, and a birth-date day code that also encodes sex. idcheck.now recomputes the expected number from the barcode's name and DOB fields and compares it segment by segment — a fabricated number that wasn't derived from the claimed identity fails the check.

Verify Wisconsin licenses in your onboarding flow today.

Your first 100 verifications are free. No credit card — five lines of JavaScript.

Start verifying free Try the live demo