In the United States and Canada, driver 's licenses are issued by the states and provinces (or territories), respectively, and do not look the same nationwide. They are also used as a de facto or government - issued identification document for the holder. Most government issuers of driver 's licenses also provide a government - issued identification card with similar attributes to a driver 's license to those residents within their jurisdictions who do not have or maintain a valid driver 's license, making it easier for them to do things such as open a bank account, and perform any other activities that require official identification. Identification cards serve as government - issued photo ID but do not enable a person to operate a motor vehicle, a fact typically noted on the ID via the phrase ' Not a driver 's license ' or similar wording. This type of photo ID is referred to as a Photo card in some jurisdictions (for example, Ontario Photo Card). Government - issued ID cards are also issued to out - of - state residents e.g. college students enrolled in an institution of higher education outside their state of residence e.g. a domiciled Texas resident enrolled at UCLA where the individual retains their Texas driver license and holds a California state issued ID card (as mentioned above e.g. bank account and financial affairs); also applicable to those who own business assets and not domiciled in a state or city as a resident e.g. one domiciled in Los Angeles and owns either a business or real estate property in Florida). In the United States no individual can hold two valid driver licenses, e.g. a Texas and California driver license held simultaneously, since some U.S. states do not collect personal income taxes e.g. Texas, Florida while California has a personal state income tax.
who is the issuing authority of a drivers license
the states and provinces (or territories)