Hundreds of millions of Americans will have until 2013 to be
outfitted with new digital ID cards, the Bush administration said on
Thursday in a long-awaited announcement that reveals details of how the
new identification plan will work.
The announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers a
five-year extension to the deadline for states to issue the ID cards, and proposes creating the equivalent of a national database that would include details on all 240 million licensed drivers.
According to the draft regulations (PDF), which were required by Congress in the 2005 Real ID Act and are unlikely to assuage privacy and cost concerns raised by state legislatures:
âo¢ The Real ID cards must include all drivers' home addresses and other
personal information printed on the front and in a two-dimensional
barcode on the back. The barcode will not be encrypted because of
"operational complexity," which means that businesses like bars and
banks that require ID would be capable of scanning and recording
customers' home addresses.
âo¢ A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag is under
consideration. Homeland Security is asking for input on how the
licenses could incorporate "RFID-enabled vicinity chip technology, in
addition to" the two-dimensional barcode requirement.
10:52:36 PM 
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