AUS: DVS Drivers Licence Changes
Changes effective from 1/9/2022
Overview
From 26 November 2020, the Document Verification Service (DVS) introduced the driver licence unique card number as a verifiable field for driver licence verifications. The addition of this field will ensure DVS Users are verifying against the most recently issued driver licence and helping to stop lost, stolen or compromised credentials from being misused.
Victorian Drivers Licences
DVS has advised that Victoria is seeking to enforce driver license card numbers as mandatory in order to avoid compromised information from being misused. The DVS is making this mandatory as of 8 AM on 19 December 2022.
FrankieOne will be collecting Victorian driver licence card numbers as mandatory as of 8 AM on 19 December 2022 via the FrankieOne Portal and Smart UI.
Why are these changes being made?
Card numbers are unique identifiers that are updated each time a drivers licence is issued.
Including the card number as part of the matching criteria ensures that the document being presented is the most recently issued document. This will minimise the risk of identity theft using a stolen or lost drivers licence.
| Issuing State | When will this card number be mandatory? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| • NSW • ACT • SA • TAS • NT • WA | 4am AEST, 1st September 2022 | Starting on the 1 September 2022, the drivers licence card number must be captured and provided, otherwise verification calls to DVS will fail. |
| • WA | 10th October 2022 | Starting on the 10 October 2022, the drivers licence card numbers for WA will begin to be verified. |
| • QLD | 8am 7th November 2022 | Starting on the 7 November 2022, the drivers licence card numbers for QLD will begin to be verified. |
| • VIC | 8am 19th December 2022. | Starting December 19th 2022 8AM this field is now mandatory and s required for verification purposes. |
Changes
API
When entering Drivers Licence details for affected states, it's important to ensure that the right KVP for "document_number" is supplied.
Note: The API endpoint does not validate whether you have provided this data point.
The affected Frankie endpoints have been updated to receive this new field since early June 2022.
For more documentation about the data model for Australian Drivers Licences, click here.
Portal
From 1st September, when adding or editing any Australian Drivers Licence from the affected states, the field input will be displayed and marked as mandatory. This number will need to be entered in for successful verification.
SmartUI
On the 1st of September, a new version will be released, making the optional Card Number fields added in v4.6 mandatory. This will mean that all end users who experience this updated flow must enter the card number to proceed.
Note: If you are currently using any version of SmartUI below v4, you will need to migrate to v4 to receive this update automatically. Failing to do so will mean that calls to DVS to validate Drivers Licences could fail due to this missing field.
If you are already on v4, no action is required, as the changes will automatically be deployed for you on this date.
See the Version Log for Smart UI here.
A guide to migrate to SmartUI v4 can be found here.
Timeline
| Date | Actions |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2022 | Equifax • Equifax Customer Test Area turns on mandatory Card Numbers |
| 22 August 2022 | Testbed • Testbed will be updated to require the Drivers Licence details |
| 24 August 2022 | API • UAT will be updated to begin failing verification for Drivers Licences with no supplied Card Number. Portal • UAT environments will be updated to enforce mandatory Card Number entry for the affected states. |
| 12am, 1 September 2022 | API • Production will be updated to fail verification due to missing data when requested. Portal • Production will be updated to enforce mandatory Card Number entry for the affected states. SmartUI • The latest version of SmartUI will be deployed, capturing the required fields. Please ensure you are already consuming v4 of SmartUI. |
| 4am, 1 September 2022 | Mandatory Card Number requirement is switched on. |
| 12 December 2022 | Testbed • Testbed will be updated to require the Victorian DL Card Number |
| 19 December 2022 | API • Production will be updated to fail verification due to missing data when requested. Portal • Production will be updated to enforce mandatory Card Number entry for the affected states. SmartUI • The latest version of SmartUI will be deployed, capturing the required fields. Please ensure you are already consuming v4 of SmartUI. |
Testing
FrankieOne Testbed
If you use the FrankieOne Testbed, you should provide a card number in your requests for profiles with NSW, ACT, SA, TAS, NT and WA-issued licences. The card number field will be optional until 22 August 2022. Test cases will pass without card numbers up to this date.
Equifax Customer Test Area
If you are testing using the Equifax Customer Test Area (CTA), the mandatory input of card numbers for NSW, ACT, SA, TAS, NT and WA-issued licences was made mandatory since 1 July 2022.
Portal Demo
If you use the Portal Demo, you should provide a card number in your requests for profiles with NSW, ACT, SA, TAS, NT and WA-issued licences. The card number field will be optional until 1 September 2022. Test cases will pass without card numbers up to this date.
FAQ
What happens to new profiles in the Portal from 1st September?
When entering details for new profiles into the Portal, and adding an affected state's Drivers Licence, you'll be required to enter the Drivers Licences Card Number to verify the card successfully.
You will not be able to proceed with submitting the profile nor saving the Drivers Licence if this number is not supplied.
What happens to existing profiles in the Portal from 1st September?
Existing profiles won't be affected, and will not require reverification.
However, If an existing profile is edited or requires verification again, the Card Number must be supplied to verify the Drivers Licence successfully. This may mean that you will need to contact your profile, to reconfirm their details, before being able to successfully submit.
What happens if we collect card numbers prior to 1 September 2022?
Providing card numbers prior to 1 September will not affect match rates.
What happens if we don't capture the Card Number after the changeover on 1 September 2022?
Documents requiring the Card Number being checked against DVS will fail to be verified. Match rates will drop to 0% for affected states.
Are card numbers always verified / What happens if the user doesn't have a card number?
There are people who have not been issued with a driver's license that has a card number particularly in VIC. For these users DVS' recommendation is to input the license number in the card number field even though the card number will not be verified and will return a match result of all other details are correct.
Updated 12 months ago