The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security and several state lawmakers announced the roll out of vertical driver licenses and ID cards.
The vertical cards will be issued to Tennesseans under 21-years-old, and the rollout started over the weekend.
Lawmakers and officials said the IDs will make it easier to identify people under the age of 21. After turning 21-years-old, any licensee may obtain a horizontal printed license or ID.
Lt. Governor Randy McNally and several state representatives made the announcement Monday at Calhoun’s On The River in Knoxville.
Tennessee is the 48th state to adopt a vertical license for minors, but it will take more than 5 years for all underage licenses to be vertical. Those issued licenses prior to the switch will not have to change their license until it expires.
Bars, restaurants, clubs, and liquor stores have spoken out in support of the change.
“I think it’s a brilliant idea, can’t believe it took us this long to get there," Michael Braden of Rudy's Jazz Room said.
“It’s gonna make it harder for an underage person to get alcohol," Ryan Sinks of Sinkers Beverages added.
