Effective January 5, 2015, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles began issuing a driver’s license and state identification card with an updated look. The most striking new feature of the updated cards is the background color, which was officially “salmon”, and is now a combination of blue and green. Additionally, the laminate on the new licenses features both “OHIO” and “1803” near the top; 1803 is the year of Ohio’s founding. The text in the laminate layer should provide supplemental security against fraud.
The Ohio license and state identification card have featured a salmon colored background since 2009, when former Governor Ted Strickland’s administration chose the shade for its resiliency to counterfeiting. The current Ohio Governor, John Kasich, who took office in 2011, and his administration, have now had the colors updated to blue and green. No explicit reason for the color change has been given.
New (blue-green) and old (pink) versions of Ohio driver’s license
Ohio residents with the salmon-colored license need not immediately renew; the pink cards remain valid until their expiration dates. Current renewal rates stand at $27.75 for a driver’s license and $8.50 for a state identification card.
See the Ohio BMV Press Release.