Minnesota Driver License & ID Card PDF417 API

Reading Minnesota Card Barcodes in Real Workflows

Minnesota issues standard, REAL ID, and enhanced driver licenses and ID cards. Enhanced cards encode an enhanced record, so a parser must still tell a license from an ID card. PDF417 error correction recovers some damage, but an application should never invent identity values when the barcode cannot be decoded.

One API for Minnesota Licenses and ID Cards

Minnesota cards are issued by the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). Licenses and identification cards carry the same AAMVA DL/ID PDF417 barcode on the back. Send the back image to the StructOCR PDF417 API: it decodes the barcode deterministically, normalizes the jurisdiction to MN, and returns document_kind as driver_license or id_card. Test a non-sensitive sample in the free PDF417 scanner. For the printed front of the card, use the Driver License OCR API.

Where This Workflow Fits

• Clinic and hospital intake: Pre-fill names, dates, and address for clinic and hospital intake and keep final confirmation in your application.
• Retail credit accounts: Accept both Minnesota licenses and state ID cards, and use document_kind where only a license is acceptable.
• Cross-border travel services: Send unreadable Minnesota barcodes to a retake or manual review step instead of saving partial identity data.

Decode a Minnesota Card Back

Upload a JPG, PNG, or WebP image of the full card back. Show a live guide frame, block submission when the barcode is cut off, and offer an instant retake after a 422 response.

Prerequisite: A server-side StructOCR API key and a clear image of the complete card back

curl -X POST https://api.structocr.com/v1/driver-license-pdf417 \
  -H "x-api-key: $STRUCTOCR_API_KEY" \
  -F "file=@minnesota-card-back.jpg"

Illustrative Minnesota ID Card Response

This response uses wholly fictional data to show a MN identification card. A license returns document_kind driver_license and its class fields.

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "drivers_license",
    "document_kind": "id_card",
    "source": "pdf417",
    "country_code": "USA",
    "region": "MN",
    "document_number": "SAMPLE1234",
    "surname": "SAMPLE",
    "given_names": "ALEX MORGAN",
    "first_name": "ALEX",
    "middle_name": "MORGAN",
    "sex": "X",
    "date_of_birth": "1990-01-15",
    "date_of_issue": "2025-01-15",
    "date_of_expiry": "2030-01-15",
    "address": "100 EXAMPLE AVE",
    "city": "SAMPLE CITY",
    "postal_code": "00000",
    "vehicle_class": null,
    "restrictions": null,
    "endorsements": null,
    "document_discriminator": "SAMPLE-DISCRIMINATOR",
    "issuer_identification_number": null,
    "aamva_version": 10,
    "jurisdiction_version": 0
  }
}