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AchillesDev t1_irevu0l wrote

Reply to comment by haroldebarel in TIL the last number on your license plate matches the month you need to renew your registration…. by seesp0trunn

Some states are really dumb and use known algorithms to encode a bunch of your private info into your D/L number. MA does too but I don't think anyone has cracked it.

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haroldebarel t1_ireyhb2 wrote

I was wondering about that actually. The first 5 characters of my wife’s drivers license now match the first 5 characters of my own after she changed her last name. (NJ drivers license and the numbers are a bit longer than the ones in MA)

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AchillesDev t1_irez2xz wrote

Here's a site that shows the algorithm for FL, WI, and IL. It claims that MA uses the SSN, but I don't think that's the case, as you've noticed the number wouldn't change with a name change if it was based on SSN. Shortly before I moved back here ~5 years ago, I checked this algorithm against my FL license number and it was accurate, fwiw.

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