A piece of plastic that's a major part of people's lives will change this summer after about 10 years of being the same.

The Department of Transportation will change driver's licenses and state IDs by adding new security features, starting in July.

On Tuesday, Viisage, a Massachusetts-based company, announced that it received the contract to provide new licenses and IDs in North Dakota. The state's contract with Unisys expires in July.

Keith Magnusson, deputy director of driver and vehicle services, said it is too early to know what the new cards will look like because he doesn't know the details yet of what security features will be included in the new cards.

"Some will be apparent, some won't,"Magnusson said of the security features.

In addition to issuing driver's licenses, the state also issues ID cards to people who don't drive, but want some form of identification.

Congress passed the Real ID Act earlier this year, which allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to set national standards for driver's licenses and IDcards. Magnusson said those requirements won't be known until sometime next year.

Two general requirements of the act include using physical security features to prevent tampering, counterfeiting or duplication of the document and making the electronic information on the cards standardized so that machines in every state can read them.

In a news release, Viisage stated that its cards can allow states to implant technology to make them "smarter and more secure."

Maureen Todaro, vice president of corporate communications for Viisage, said some of the security features common on IDs are holograms, ghost images and the use of high security printing. Todaro said states keep some of their security features secret to make it more difficult for people trying to forge documents.

Although the Department of Homeland Security hasn't released its requirements for new IDs yet, Todaro said many states are making changes now.

"Typically states aren't waiting for all the guidelines to be set because we know a lot of what the mandate is already,"Todaro said.

There has been speculation that the federal government will eventually require the use of radio frequency identification chips, which would allow the government to track the location of the cards. However, Magnusson said there aren't plans to put chips in the new cards.

Under the terms of the contract, Viisage provides the equipment to make the cards and the state pays a fee for each card printed. It is estimated that cost will be around $2.9 million over the five-year life of the contract for the new cards.

Magnusson said the new IDs will cost the state more than the current ones, but the additional cost will be passed on to citizens only if the Legislature decides to increase fees.

"We try to break even,"Magnusson said. "We really don't make any money."

It currently costs $10 for a new non-commercial permit or drivers license and $8 for a state ID. It costs $8 to renew a license and $3 to change a name or address on a license.

Rep. Kathy Hawken, R-Fargo, introduced a bill in the 2005 Legislature to double the license fees, but the bill failed.

There are roughly 450,000 drivers licenses and state identification cards issued in the state.

Magnusson said people will not have to get the new licenses until their old ones expire.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@;bismarcktribune.com.)