ISO/IEC 18013-2:2008 establishes guidelines for the content and formatting of data stored on an ISO compliant driving licence (IDL) using machine-readable technologies. It creates a common basis for the international use of IDL data without restricting individual domestic or regional driver licensing authorities from applying their specific data policies.

ISO/IEC 18013-2:2008 specifies the following items.

• Mandatory and optional machine-readable data. Machine-readable IDL data support the following functions (subject in some cases to the inclusion of appropriate optional data elements):




• confirming the driving privileges of a driver;


• enabling a link to be established to a driving privilege database;


• age verification;


• identity verification;


• biographical data verification;


• evidence of residence;


• biometric authentication;


• document authentication and validation.




• The logical data structure.


• Encoding methods for the following:




• cases where the memory capacity available to the IDL application does not exceed 5 kB, typically applicable to 2D barcode symbologies, high-coercivity high-density magnetic stripe and limited memory capacity integrated circuits (contactless and those with contacts);


• integrated circuits (contactless and those with contacts) where the memory capacity available to the IDL application exceeds 5 kB;


• optical memory.