Wisconsin Driver License & ID Card PDF417 API

Reading Wisconsin Card Barcodes in Real Workflows

Wisconsin taverns and summer festivals check ages in crowded, dim settings, and many residents carry state ID cards instead of licenses. The same flow must handle both. PDF417 error correction recovers some damage, but an application should never invent identity values when the barcode cannot be decoded.

One API for Wisconsin Licenses and ID Cards

Wisconsin cards are issued by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation Division of Motor Vehicles. 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 WI, 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

• Tavern and festival entry: Pre-fill names, dates, and address for tavern and festival entry and keep final confirmation in your application.
• Healthcare registration: Accept both Wisconsin licenses and state ID cards, and use document_kind where only a license is acceptable.
• Manufacturing onboarding: Send unreadable Wisconsin barcodes to a retake or manual review step instead of saving partial identity data.

Decode a Wisconsin Card Back

Upload a JPG, PNG, or WebP image of the full card back. Keep the API key on your server, accept the upload in your backend, and return the capture_issue hint to the user when decoding fails.

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=@wisconsin-card-back.jpg"

Illustrative Wisconsin ID Card Response

This response uses wholly fictional data to show a WI 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": "WI",
    "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
  }
}