N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 504

§ 504. Form of license. 1. (a) Every license or renewal thereof shall\ncontain a distinguishing mark and adequate space upon which an\nanatomical gift, pursuant to section forty-three hundred ten of the\npublic health law, by the licensee shall be recorded and shall contain\nsuch other information and shall be issued in such form as the\ncommissioner shall determine; provided, however, every license or\nrenewal thereof issued to a person under the age of twenty-one years\nshall have prominently imprinted upon it the statement "UNDER 21 YEARS\nOF AGE" in notably distinctive print or format; provided further,\nhowever, every license or renewal thereof issued to a person making an\nanatomical gift shall have prominently printed upon the front of such\nlicense or renewal thereof the statement "ORGAN DONOR" in notably\ndistinctive print or format. The commissioner shall not require fees for\nthe issuance of such licenses or renewals thereof to persons under\ntwenty-one years of age or to persons making an anatomical gift which\nare different from the fees required for the issuance of licenses or\nrenewals thereof to persons twenty-one years of age or over or to\npersons not making an anatomical gift.\n * (a-1) Every license or renewal thereof issued to an applicant who\nwas a member of the armed forces of the United States and who (i)\nreceived an honorable discharge or was released therefrom under\nhonorable conditions, or (ii) has a qualifying condition, as defined in\nsection three hundred fifty of the executive law, and has received a\ndischarge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or\n(iii) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section three hundred\nfifty of the executive law, and has received a discharge other than bad\nconduct or dishonorable from such service, shall, upon his or her\nrequest and submission of proof as set forth herein, contain a\ndistinguishing mark, in such form as the commissioner shall determine,\nindicating that he or she is a veteran. Such proof shall consist of a\ncertificate of release or discharge from active duty including but not\nlimited to a DD Form 214 or other proof satisfactory to the\ncommissioner. The commissioner shall not require fees for the issuance\nof such licenses or renewals thereof to persons requesting a veteran\ndistinguishing mark which are different from fees otherwise required;\nprovided, however, that notwithstanding the provisions of this section,\nthe commissioner shall not require fees for a duplication or amendment\nof a license prior to its renewal if such duplication or amendment was\nsolely for the purpose of adding a veteran distinguishing mark to such\nlicense.\n * NB Effective until April 1, 2023\n * (a-1) Every license or renewal thereof issued to an applicant who\nwas a member of the armed forces of the United States and who (i)\nreceived an honorable discharge or was released therefrom under\nhonorable conditions, or (ii) has a qualifying condition, as defined in\nsection one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge\nother than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (iii) is a\ndischarged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans'\nservices law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or\ndishonorable from such service, shall, upon his or her request and\nsubmission of proof as set forth herein, contain a distinguishing mark,\nin such form as the commissioner shall determine, indicating that he or\nshe is a veteran. Such proof shall consist of a certificate of release\nor discharge from active duty including but not limited to a DD Form 214\nor other proof satisfactory to the commissioner. The commissioner shall\nnot require fees for the issuance of such licenses or renewals thereof\nto persons requesting a veteran distinguishing mark which are different\nfrom fees otherwise required; provided, however, that notwithstanding\nthe provisions of this section, the commissioner shall not require fees\nfor a duplication or amendment of a license prior to its renewal if such\nduplication or amendment was solely for the purpose of adding a veteran\ndistinguishing mark to such license.\n * NB Effective April 1, 2023\n (b) The commissioner may by regulation provide that every driver's\nlicense contain the photo image of the licensee. The learner's permit\nmay also contain the photo image of the permittee pursuant to\nregulations established by the commissioner.\n 2. Whenever an applicant for a license has successfully met the\nrequirements for the issuance of a license, the license issued by the\ncommissioner may be a temporary license which shall be valid until the\nlicense provided in subdivision one of this section is issued or until\nforty-five days from the date such temporary license is issued,\nwhichever occurs first. The commissioner may in his discretion extend\nthe period of validity of such temporary license. Such temporary license\nshall be in such form as the commissioner shall determine.\n 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any photo image taken\nas part of the application procedure for a learner's permit or an\noriginal, duplicate, renewal or amended driver's license shall not be a\npublic record.\n