2022 New York Laws
VAT - Vehicle and Traffic
Title 5 - Drivers' Licenses
Article 19 - Licensing of Drivers
504 - Form of License.
§ 504. Form of license. 1. (a) Every license or renewal thereof shall contain a distinguishing mark and adequate space upon which an anatomical gift, pursuant to section forty-three hundred ten of the public health law, by the licensee shall be recorded and shall contain such other information and shall be issued in such form as the commissioner shall determine; provided, however, every license or renewal thereof issued to a person under the age of twenty-one years shall have prominently imprinted upon it the statement "UNDER 21 YEARS OF AGE" in notably distinctive print or format; provided further, however, every license or renewal thereof issued to a person making an anatomical gift shall have prominently printed upon the front of such license or renewal thereof the statement "ORGAN DONOR" in notably distinctive print or format. The commissioner shall not require fees for the issuance of such licenses or renewals thereof to persons under twenty-one years of age or to persons making an anatomical gift which are different from the fees required for the issuance of licenses or renewals thereof to persons twenty-one years of age or over or to persons not making an anatomical gift.(a-1) Every license or renewal thereof issued to an applicant who was a member of the armed forces of the United States and who (i) received an honorable discharge or was released therefrom under honorable conditions, or (ii) has a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (iii) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, shall, upon his or her request and submission of proof as set forth herein, contain a distinguishing mark, in such form as the commissioner shall determine, indicating that he or she is a veteran. Such proof shall consist of a certificate of release or discharge from active duty including but not limited to a DD Form 214 or other proof satisfactory to the commissioner. The commissioner shall not require fees for the issuance of such licenses or renewals thereof to persons requesting a veteran distinguishing mark which are different from fees otherwise required; provided, however, that notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the commissioner shall not require fees for a duplication or amendment of a license prior to its renewal if such duplication or amendment was solely for the purpose of adding a veteran distinguishing mark to such license.
(b) The commissioner may by regulation provide that every driver's license contain the photo image of the licensee. The learner's permit may also contain the photo image of the permittee pursuant to regulations established by the commissioner. 2. Whenever an applicant for a license has successfully met the requirements for the issuance of a license, the license issued by the commissioner may be a temporary license which shall be valid until the license provided in subdivision one of this section is issued or until forty-five days from the date such temporary license is issued, whichever occurs first. The commissioner may in his discretion extend the period of validity of such temporary license. Such temporary license shall be in such form as the commissioner shall determine. 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any photo image taken as part of the application procedure for a learner's permit or an original, duplicate, renewal or amended driver's license shall not be a public record.
