U.S. Drivers License Parser

Parse PDF417 barcode data from U.S. driver's licenses and ID cards encoded according to AAMVA standards (versions 03 through 10).

Zero runtime dependencies. Works in Node.js and browsers.

Install

npm install usdriverslicenseparser

Quick start

import { parseLicense, parseLicenseSafe, parseAamvaDate, isExpired } from "usdriverslicenseparser";

const license = parseLicense(barcodeText);

console.log(license.FirstName);
console.log(license.LastName);
console.log(license.DocumentExpirationDate);
console.log(license.AamvaVersion);
console.log(isExpired(license));

const expiration = parseAamvaDate(license.DocumentExpirationDate);

For production UIs and APIs, prefer the non-throwing helper:

import { parseLicenseSafe } from "usdriverslicenseparser";

const result = parseLicenseSafe(barcodeText);

if (result.success) {
  console.log(result.data.FirstName);
} else {
  console.error(result.code, result.error);
}

API

Parsing

Function	Description
parseLicense(barcode)	Parse a raw barcode string. Throws typed errors on failure.
parseLicenseSafe(barcode)	Same as above, but returns { success, data } or { success, error, code }.
normalizeBarcode(barcode)	Normalize scanner output (\r\n → \n, trim whitespace). Applied automatically by parseLicense.

Helpers

Function	Description
parseAamvaDate(value)	Convert an AAMVA date string (MMDDYYYY) to a Date, or undefined if invalid.
isExpired(license, asOf?)	Returns whether the license is expired, or undefined if no expiration date is present.
getAge(license, asOf?)	Returns age in whole years, or undefined if date of birth is missing/invalid.
isUnder21(license, asOf?)	Uses Under21Until when present, otherwise falls back to age.

Metadata

Every successful parse includes header metadata:

Field	Description
AamvaVersion	AAMVA standard version (03–10)
IssuerId	Six-digit issuer identification number (IIN)
JurisdictionVersion	Jurisdiction-specific version number

Errors

Error	Code	When
MissingHeaderError	MISSING_HEADER	Barcode does not contain a valid @ANSI header
UnsupportedVersionError	UNSUPPORTED_VERSION	AAMVA version is not supported
MalformedBarcodeError	MALFORMED_BARCODE	DL subfile data could not be parsed

Supported versions

AAMVA Version	Parser
03, 04	AAMVA 03 (combined DCT given name)
05–07	AAMVA 05
08	AAMVA 08
09	AAMVA 09
10	AAMVA 10

Parsed fields

Field	AAMVA ID	Notes
FirstName	DAC / DCT	Split from DCT on v03
MiddleName	DAD / DCT
LastName	DCS
LicenseId	DAQ
DateOfBirth	DBB	Raw MMDDYYYY string
DocumentIssueDate	DBD
DocumentExpirationDate	DBA
Gender	DBC	Male, Female, or NotSpecified
IsMale	DBC	Kept for backward compatibility
AddressStreet	DAG
AddressStreet2	DAH
AddressCity	DAI
AddressState	DAJ
AddressPostalCode	DAK
OrganDonor	DDK
Veteran	DDL
Under21Until	DDJ

See DriversLicense in the source for the full list of optional fields.

Privacy & security

This library parses sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) including names, addresses, dates of birth, and license numbers.

• All parsing happens locally in your application — this library does not transmit data anywhere.
• You are responsible for securely handling, storing, transmitting, and retaining any parsed license data in compliance with applicable laws and your own privacy policies.
• Avoid logging raw barcode strings or parsed PII in production systems.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please open an issue or pull request on GitHub.

License

MIT