A. The department shall, upon payment of the required fee, issue to every qualified applicant a license as applied for. Except as provided in Subsection B of this section, the license shall bear the applicant's full legal name; date of birth; sex; current New Mexico residence address; full-face or front-view digital photograph; a unique license number; a date of issuance; an expiration date; a brief description of the licensee; the signature of the licensee; and the licensee's organ donor status. A license shall not be valid unless it bears the signature of the licensee.

B .A standard driver's license shall bear the applicant's full name; date of birth; sex; current New Mexico residence address; full-face or front-view digital photograph; a unique license number; a date of issuance; an expiration date; a brief description of the licensee; the signature of the licensee; and the licensee's organ donor status.

C. The department shall ensure that REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses and standard driver's licenses are distinguishable in color or design but only to the extent that a standard driver's license shall bear the statement: "NOT INTENDED FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES" and a REAL ID-compliant driver's license shall include a gold star pursuant to Section 66-5-15.3 NMSA 1978.

D. A REAL ID-compliant driver's license issued to a foreign national who fails to prove that the foreign national's lawful status will not expire prior to the date on which the license applied for would expire but for the person being a foreign national shall clearly indicate on its face and in the machine readable zone that it is temporary and shall bear the word "TEMPORARY".

History: 1953 Comp., § 64-5-15, enacted by Laws 1978, ch. 35, § 237; 1991, ch. 160, § 12; 2004, ch. 59, § 11; 2016, ch. 79, § 4; 2019, ch. 167, § 7.

Cross references. — For provision that an applicant may have his donor status, as provided in the Jonathan Spradling Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, shown on the license, see 66-5-10 NMSA 1978.

For requirement that the division photograph the driver, see 66-5-47 NMSA 1978.

The 2019 amendment, effective October 1, 2019, provided for REAL ID-compliant licenses, and provided additional requirements for a standard driver's license; in Subsection A, added "Except as provided in Subsection B of this section", and added "and the licensee's organ donor status"; added a new Subsection B and redesignated former Subsection B and C as Subsections C and D, respectively; in Subsection C, after "shall ensure that", added "REAL ID-compliant", after "driver's licenses and", deleted "driving authorization card" and added "standard driver's licenses", and after "color or design", added "but only to the extent that a standard driver's license shall bear the statement: 'NOT INTENDED FOR FEDERAL PURPOSES' and a REAL ID-compliant driver's license shall include a gold star pursuant to Section 66-5-15.3 NMSA 1978"; in Subsection D, added "REAL ID-compliant"; and deleted former Subsection D.

The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, required the taxation and revenue department to ensure that driver's licenses and driving authorization cards are distinguishable in color, that driving authorization cards clearly state "not for federal purposes", and that driver's licenses issued to certain foreign nationals bear the word "temporary"; added the subsection designation "A", in Subsection A, after "every qualified applicant a", deleted "driver's", after "shall bear the", added "applicant's", after "full", added "legal", after "birth", added "sex", after "current New Mexico", deleted "physical or mailing" and added "residence", after "address", deleted "a", after "front-view", added "digital", and after "photograph", deleted "of the license holder and" and added "a unique license number; a date of issuance; an expiration date"; and added new Subsections B, C and D.

The 2004 amendment, effective March 4, 2004, changed "residence" to "physical or mailing" address and added "a full face or front-view photograph of the license holder".

The 1991 amendment, effective July 1, 1991, in the first sentence, substituted "department" for "division", substituted "qualified applicant" for "applicant qualifying therefor" and deleted "thereon a distinguishing number" following "license shall bear".

REAL ID Act requirements. — The REAL ID Act, Pub. L. 109-13, Div. B, Title II, §§ 201 to 207, May 11, 2005 (8 U.S.C. § 1101 et. seq.), does not, on its face, dictate that states must adopt the REAL ID Act's licensing standards. 2008 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 08-07.

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 7A Am. Jur. 2d Automobiles and Highway Traffic § 99.

60 C.J.S. Motor Vehicles § 146.