What is driving license OCR?
Driving license OCR reads a photo, scan or PDF of a driver's license and turns it into structured data: holder name, date of birth, address, license number, issuing state, class, restrictions, issue and expiration dates. Koncile uses AI to read any layout without templates, checks that the license is still valid and that its dates fit together, and flags licenses that show signs of editing. Export to Excel, CSV or JSON, or send it to your stack by API.
Manual keying
Someone copies the license into your system. Fine for a few drivers, slow and error prone at onboarding scale.
Template OCR
The software reads characters, then looks for each field at a fixed position. Every state design, and every redesign, means a new template.
AI without templates
The model reads the card the way a person would: it finds the name, the number and the dates whatever the state or the version.
What data does driving license OCR extract?
Koncile's driver's license template starts with the fields below, read on the front and the back of the card. You can edit them, add your own or describe a field in plain language from the interface, such as height, eye color or an endorsement you need to track.
| Field | Example | Extraction rule |
|---|---|---|
| License number | SX482913 | Number printed on the card, kept exactly as written. |
| Last name | Sample | Family name of the holder. |
| First and middle names | Jordan A. | All the given names of the holder. |
| Date of birth | 04/18/1992 | Returned in your chosen date format. |
| Address | 1234 Main St, Columbus, OH 43215 | Full address as printed on the card. |
| Issuing state | Ohio | State or authority that issued the license. |
| Date of issue | 03/02/2026 | Date on which the license was issued. |
| Expiration date | 04/18/2030 | Date until which the license is valid. |
| Class | D | Type of vehicles the holder may drive. |
| Endorsements and restrictions | Corrective lenses | Codes and mentions printed on the card, or None. |
| Driver's license check | Yes | Yes if the document is a driver's license. Otherwise No, with the type of document. |
| Valid license | Yes | Yes if the license has not expired yet. Otherwise No. |
| Front and back | Front and back | Front, Back or Front and back, depending on the pages provided. |
How does driving license OCR work?
- Step 1
Intake
Upload, a dedicated email address or the API: the license arrives as a phone photo, a scan or a PDF.
- Step 2
Reading
Text is read on the front and the back, even on a skewed photo with glare.
- Step 3
Structuring
Each value lands in its field: holder, number, state, class, dates.
- Step 4
Checks
Expiration checked, dates compared, a confidence score on every field.
- Step 5
Export
Excel, CSV, JSON, webhook or API, into your KYC tool, CRM or database.
Phone photos, scans and every state design
Licenses rarely arrive as clean scans. Most come from a phone, taken on a desk or in a car, sometimes as two separate files for the front and the back.
Licenses from other countries work too, including Cyrillic, Arabic or Chinese scripts. Passports and ID cards are covered on our identity document OCR page.
Phone photos
A tilted card, glare on the laminate, a blurry corner: the AI reads the card as a whole, not character by character, so average quality photos still come through.
Front and back
Both sides are read and merged into one record. Koncile also tells you which sides were provided, so a missing back is caught.
Every layout
Each state has its own design and changes it over time. No template is tied to a position on the card, so a new design does not need a new setup.
Doubtful fields
Each field gets a confidence score. Uncertain values go to a review queue with the field highlighted, the rest flow through untouched.
Driving license OCR for KYC and fraud checks
A license often stands in for an ID: at account opening, in an insurance quote, when a driver joins a platform. Reading it is only half the job. Koncile also checks the document while it extracts it.
Koncile checks the document you received, not a state record. To check a single license, use our driving license fraud checker.
Expiration and validity
The expiration date is compared with today, with no code to write. An expired license is flagged before it enters your file.
Consistent dates
Date of birth, issue date and expiration must fit together. A license issued before the holder could drive, or one that expires before it was issued, stands out.
Signs of editing
A retyped date, a swapped portrait or a license rebuilt in an editor leave traces in the image and in the file. Koncile returns a suspicion of modification, with a score from 0 to 100 and the reason for each signal.
Cross checks with the file
Name and date of birth are compared with the ID card, the application form or the rest of the file. A mismatch is flagged for review.
Export and integrations
Extracted data is only useful once it lands where your team works: a KYC platform, a CRM, a fleet tool or a spreadsheet.
Developers can start from our OCR API documentation.
Exports
XLSX, XLS, CSV and JSON, with configurable column names, order and date formats.
API and webhook
Send licenses through the API, get the result by webhook as soon as extraction is done, and push it to your own systems.
No code and email
Make, n8n, Zapier and Power Automate connect in minutes. A dedicated email address receives licenses and extracts the attachments automatically.
Automatic sorting
A file mixes licenses, ID cards and proofs of address? Each document is routed to the right extraction template on its own.
Driving license OCR pricing
Koncile is priced per page analyzed. The free plan gives you 20 credits to test on your own licenses. The Advanced plan is €199 per month excl. tax, about €0.20 per page, with API, SDK and MCP access. Above that, the Enterprise plan brings a lower price per page as volume grows.
Prices in USD and EUR are on our pricing page.
An AI OCR built for security
Your licenses are never used to train a model. Fully encrypted software, secure storage of extracted data, a SOC 2 certified and GDPR compliant platform.
Driving license OCR: frequently asked questions
How does OCR extract information from a driver's license?
Koncile detects the text areas on the card, then uses AI to understand what each one is: name, license number, date of birth, issue and expiration dates, class, restrictions. Everything is structured into fields and exported to Excel, CSV or JSON, or sent to your tools by API.
Does driving license OCR work on phone photos and scans?
Yes. Whether the license is scanned or photographed with a smartphone, Koncile extracts it, even from average quality images. Fields it is unsure about get a low confidence score and are sent to review instead of going through silently.
Does it read licenses from every US state?
Koncile does not rely on a template tied to each design. The AI reads the card as a whole, so it handles different state layouts and newer versions of the same card. Licenses from other countries work too.
Can I extract only some fields, such as the number or the expiration date?
Yes. The template is a starting point: remove the fields you do not need, add your own, or describe a field in plain language. Only the information you need comes out.
Can driving license OCR detect a fake license?
OCR alone reads a fake as easily as a real one. Koncile adds checks while it extracts: expiration, dates that must fit together, signs of editing in the image and in the file. You get a suspicion of modification with a score from 0 to 100, not a certainty, and the reason for each signal.
Does Koncile check the license against state records?
No. Koncile checks the document you received: its fields, its consistency and signs of editing. Whether the holder is still entitled to drive is a question for the issuing authority.
Which file formats are supported?
PDF and all common image formats, including PNG and JPEG. Extracted data comes out as XLSX, XLS, CSV or JSON.
How does Koncile integrate with my tools?
Through the API and webhooks, documented on docs.koncile.ai, through Make, n8n, Zapier or Power Automate, through a dedicated email address, or by uploading files in the app and downloading the results.
How much does driving license OCR cost?
Koncile is priced per page analyzed. You start with 20 free credits, then the Advanced plan is €199 per month excl. tax, and the Enterprise plan lowers the price per page for large volumes.
