py-aamva-parser

Python library to parse AAMVA PDF417 barcode payloads from US and Canadian driver's licenses and ID cards.

This project is a Python port of aamva-parser by joptimus, originally implemented in TypeScript for Node.js. Parsing logic, version-specific field maps, and helpers are intended to track that upstream project.

The port was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by a human before publication.

Supports AAMVA barcode versions 01–12 (CDS 2000–2025). Includes helpers for age checks, full name formatting, and CDL detection (v12).

Requirements

• Python 3.10+

Installation

The PyPI / pip name is aamva-parser (hyphen). The import name is aamva_parser (underscore): import aamva_parser or from aamva_parser import parse.

From PyPI:

pip install aamva-parser

From a git checkout:

pip install .
pip install -e ".[dev]"   # editable, with dev dependencies

With Poetry (2.0+ recommended; the package is PEP 621 metadata with setuptools as the build backend):

From PyPI:

poetry add aamva-parser

From a local path or Git URL:

poetry add git+https://github.com/btmash/py-aamva-parser.git

The importable package name is aamva_parser (underscore).

Usage

Parse a barcode

from aamva_parser import parse, get_version, is_expired, get_age, is_under_21, get_full_name

barcode_data = """
@
ANSI 636026080102DL00410288ZA03290015DLDAQD12345678
DCSPUBLIC
DDEN
DACJOHN
DDFN
DADQUINCY
DDGN
DCAD
DCBNONE
DCDNONE
DBD08242015
DBB01311970
DBA01312035
DBC1
DAU069 in
DAYGRN
DAG789 E OAK ST
DAIANYTOWN
DAJCA
DAK902230000
DCF83D9BN217QO983B1
DCGUSA
DAW180
DAZBRO
DCK12345678900000000000
DDB02142014
DDK1
ZAZAAN
ZAB
ZAC
"""

lic = parse(barcode_data)

print(lic.first_name)       # "JOHN"
print(lic.last_name)        # "PUBLIC"
print(lic.date_of_birth)    # datetime.datetime(1970, 1, 31, 0, 0)
print(lic.expiration_date)  # datetime.datetime(2035, 1, 31, 0, 0)
print(lic.expired)          # False (snapshot from parsed expiry vs "now")

age = get_age(barcode_data)
under_21 = is_under_21(barcode_data)
name = get_full_name(barcode_data)  # "JOHN QUINCY PUBLIC"

expired = is_expired(barcode_data)
version = get_version(barcode_data)  # "08"

Jurisdiction, CDL, and “acceptable” checks

from aamva_parser import get_state, is_cdl, is_acceptable, is_under_18

state = get_state(barcode_data)       # e.g. "CA", or None
cdl = is_cdl(barcode_data)             # True when v12 CDL indicator is set
ok = is_acceptable(barcode_data)      # issued, not expired, required fields present
minor = is_under_18(barcode_data)     # False if 18+ or no DOB

Instance methods on License

After lic = parse(...), you can call methods on the same object instead of re-parsing:

lic = parse(barcode_data)

if lic.is_expired():
    ...
if lic.has_been_issued() and lic.is_acceptable():
    ...

Types, annotations, and enums

parse() returns a License dataclass. ParsedLicense is a typing.TypeAlias to License for annotations; at runtime isinstance(lic, License) and isinstance(lic, ParsedLicense) are equivalent.

from aamva_parser import License, ParsedLicense, Gender, EyeColor, parse

def summarize(card: ParsedLicense) -> str:
    return f"{card.first_name} {card.last_name} ({card.state})"

lic: License = parse(barcode_data)

if lic.gender == Gender.MALE:
    print("Male")

if lic.eye_color == EyeColor.GREEN:
    print("Green eyes")

Package version

import aamva_parser

print(aamva_parser.__version__)

LicenseParser class

For multiple operations on the same raw string:

from aamva_parser import LicenseParser

parser = LicenseParser(barcode_data)
version = parser.parse_version()
lic = parser.parse()

Each module-level helper (get_age, is_expired, …) parses the string again. Prefer LicenseParser when you need the version, a License, and several helpers, so you pay for one parse.

API

The package exports License (concrete result type), ParsedLicense (type alias to License for annotations), enums, and LicenseParser. Module-level functions:

Each helper such as get_full_name(barcode) or is_acceptable(barcode) runs parse(barcode) internally. For hot paths, build one LicenseParser and call parse() once, then read fields or call License methods.

Deprecated Parse / GetVersion / IsExpired (PascalCase) are re-exported from the package root; prefer snake_case.

Function	Returns	Description
parse(barcode_data)	License	Parse PDF417 payload into a License.
get_version(barcode_data)	str | None	AAMVA version (e.g. "08").
is_expired(barcode_data)	bool	Whether the expiration date is in the past.
get_age(barcode_data)	int | None	Age in years, or None without DOB.
is_under_21(barcode_data)	bool	Under 21, or False if 21+ or no DOB.
is_under_18(barcode_data)	bool	Under 18, or False if 18+ or no DOB.
is_acceptable(barcode_data)	bool	Not expired, issued, and required fields set.
get_full_name(barcode_data)	str | None	"FIRST MIDDLE LAST"; None if no names.
get_state(barcode_data)	str | None	Jurisdiction (e.g. "CA").
is_cdl(barcode_data)	bool	CDL indicator set (v12 / CDS 2025).

Deprecated aliases

Deprecated	Use instead
Parse()	parse()
GetVersion()	get_version()
IsExpired()	is_expired()

License methods

• is_expired() — compare expiration_date to the current time.
• has_been_issued() — True if issue_date is set and the current time is after it.
• is_acceptable() — stricter checklist (name, address, dates, document ID, etc.).

Supported fields (License)

Field	Type	Attribute
First name	str | None	first_name
Last name	str | None	last_name
Middle name	str | None	middle_name
Expiration date	datetime | None	expiration_date
Issue date	datetime | None	issue_date
Date of birth	datetime | None	date_of_birth
Gender	Gender	gender
Eye color	EyeColor	eye_color
Hair color	HairColor	hair_color
Height (inches)	float | None	height
Weight	str | None	weight
Street address	str | None	street_address
Street address line 2	str | None	street_address_supplement
City	str | None	city
State	str | None	state
Postal code	str | None	postal_code
Driver's license ID	str | None	drivers_license_id
Document ID	str | None	document_id
Issuing country	IssuingCountry	country
Name suffix	NameSuffix	suffix
First name truncation	Truncation	first_name_truncation
Middle name truncation	Truncation	middle_name_truncation
Last name truncation	Truncation	last_name_truncation
Place of birth	str | None	place_of_birth
Audit information	str | None	audit_information
Inventory control number	str | None	inventory_control_number
First name alias	str | None	first_name_alias
Last name alias	str | None	last_name_alias
Suffix alias	str | None	suffix_alias
CDL indicator	str | None	cdl_indicator
Non-domiciled indicator	str | None	non_domiciled_indicator
Enhanced credential indicator	str | None	enhanced_credential_indicator
Permit indicator	str | None	permit_indicator
Expired (parsed snapshot)	bool	expired
AAMVA version	str | None	version
Raw barcode	str | None	pdf417

AAMVA version support

CDS	Year	Barcode	Supported
2000	2000	01	Yes
2003	2003	02	Yes
2005	2005	03	Yes
2009	2009	04–05	Yes
2010	2010	06	Yes
2011	2011	07	Yes
2012	2012	08	Yes
2013	2013	09	Yes
2016	2016	10	Yes
2020	2020	11	Yes
2025	2025	12	Yes

Example

Raw PDF417 payload (version 08)

@

ANSI 636026080102DL00410288ZA03290015DLDAQD12345678
DCSPUBLIC
DDEN
DACJOHN
DDFN
DADQUINCY
DDGN
DCAD
DCBNONE
DCDNONE
DBD08242015
DBB01311970
DBA01312035
DBC1
DAU069 in
DAYGRN
DAG789 E OAK ST
DAIANYTOWN
DAJCA
DAK902230000
DCF83D9BN217QO983B1
DCGUSA
DAW180
DAZBRO
DCK12345678900000000000
DDB02142014
DDK1
ZAZAAN
ZAB
ZAC

Parsed values (illustrative)

# After lic = parse(barcode_data)
{
    "first_name": "JOHN",
    "last_name": "PUBLIC",
    "middle_name": "QUINCY",
    "date_of_birth": datetime(1970, 1, 31),
    "expiration_date": datetime(2035, 1, 31),
    "issue_date": datetime(2015, 8, 24),
    "gender": Gender.MALE,
    "eye_color": EyeColor.GREEN,
    "hair_color": HairColor.BROWN,
    "height": 69,
    "weight": "180",
    "street_address": "789 E OAK ST",
    "city": "ANYTOWN",
    "state": "CA",
    "postal_code": "902230000",
    "drivers_license_id": "D12345678",
    "document_id": "83D9BN217QO983B1",
    "country": IssuingCountry.UNITED_STATES,
    "inventory_control_number": "12345678900000000000",
    "expired": False,
    "version": "08",
}

AAMVA element IDs by version

Bold = mandatory in upstream docs. -- = not used in that barcode version.

Tables are split so they fit typical viewports; the two halves are the same data as one wide 01–12 grid.

Versions 01–06

Field	01	02	03	04	05	06
First Name	DAC	DCT	DCT	DAC	DAC	DAC
Last Name	DAB	DCS	DCS	DCS	DCS	DCS
Middle Name	DAD	DAD	DAD	DAD	DAD	DAD
Expiration Date	DBA	DBA	DBA	DBA	DBA	DBA
Issue Date	DBD	DBD	DBD	DBD	DBD	DBD
Date of Birth	DBB	DBB	DBB	DBB	DBB	DBB
Gender	DBC	DBC	DBC	DBC	DBC	DBC
Eye Color	DAY	DAY	DAY	DAY	DAY	DAY
Height	DAU	DAU	DAU	DAU	DAU	DAU
Street Address	DAG	DAG	DAG	DAG	DAG	DAG
City	DAI	DAI	DAI	DAI	DAI	DAI
State	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ
Postal Code	DAK	DAK	DAK	DAK	DAK	DAK
License ID	DBJ	DAQ	DAQ	DAQ	DAQ	DAQ
Document ID	--	DCF	DCF	DCF	DCF	DCF
Country	--	DCG	DCG	DCG	DCG	DCG
Weight	--	DAW	DAW	DAW	DAW	DAW
CDL Indicator	--	--	--	--	--	--
Non-Domiciled Indicator	--	--	--	--	--	--
Enhanced Credential	--	--	--	--	--	--
Permit Indicator	--	--	--	--	--	--

Versions 07–12

Field	07	08	09	10	11	12
First Name	DAC	DAC	DAC	DAC	DAC	DAC
Last Name	DCS	DCS	DCS	DCS	DCS	DCS
Middle Name	DAD	DAD	DAD	DAD	DAD	DAD
Expiration Date	DBA	DBA	DBA	DBA	DBA	DBA
Issue Date	DBD	DBD	DBD	DBD	DBD	DBD
Date of Birth	DBB	DBB	DBB	DBB	DBB	DBB
Gender	DBC	DBC	DBC	DBC	DBC	DBC
Eye Color	DAY	DAY	DAY	DAY	DAY	DAY
Height	DAU	DAU	DAU	DAU	DAU	DAU
Street Address	DAG	DAG	DAG	DAG	DAG	DAG
City	DAI	DAI	DAI	DAI	DAI	DAI
State	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ	DAJ
Postal Code	DAK	DAK	DAK	DAK	DAK	DAK
License ID	DAQ	DAQ	DAQ	DAQ	DAQ	DAQ
Document ID	DCF	DCF	DCF	DCF	DCF	DCF
Country	DCG	DCG	DCG	DCG	DCG	DCG
Weight	DAW	DAW	DAW	DAW	DAW	DAW
CDL Indicator	--	--	--	--	--	DDM
Non-Domiciled Indicator	--	--	--	--	--	DDN
Enhanced Credential	--	--	--	--	--	DDO
Permit Indicator	--	--	--	--	--	DDP

Development

Automated tests mirror the upstream Jest layout under js-aamva-parser/tests/ (for example regex.test.ts → tests/test_regex.py, indexApi.test.ts → tests/test_index_api.py). Deprecated PascalCase helpers are implemented in src/aamva_parser/compat.py.

pip and venv

python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate   # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"
ruff check src tests
ruff format --check src tests
mypy
pytest

Poetry

From the repository root (Poetry 2.0+):

poetry install -E dev
poetry run ruff check src tests
poetry run ruff format --check src tests
poetry run mypy
poetry run pytest

Optional: poetry shell, then run the same commands without the poetry run prefix.

License

ISC

Credits

• Python port: maintained by btmash (py-aamva-parser).
• Upstream: aamva-parser by joptimus (TypeScript / Node.js).
• The original JavaScript README credits inspiration from the Swift project ksoftllc/license-parser.