Conformance
A prerequisite for conformance with AAMVA PDF417 standard for bar coding is conformance with ANSI X3.182, ANSI/ASQC Z1.4, ASCII/ISO 646, ASCII/ISO 8859-1, ISO/IEC 15438, and MIL-L-61002.
Symbology
AAMVA PDF417 barcode generator iDataCode encodes data into the PDF417 symbology (ISO/IEC 15438 Automatic Identification and Data Capture Techniques - International Two-dimensional Symbology Specification - PDF417) shall be used for the Driver License applications.
Compliant 2D symbols employ a file header that allows interested parties to interpret the encoded data. Subfiles are employed to carry the specific information. The combination of a header and one or more subfile designators make up a compliant 2D symbol.
Each 2-dimensional bar code begins with a file header that identifies the generated AAMVA PDF417 barcode as complying with the standard. The header is followed by a subfile designator “DL” to identify the DL/ID data type stored in the file. Each data element contained in a subfile is prefaced by a data element identifier (Element ID) as defined in the standard. The use of a field separator character serves to both terminate a field and indicate the presence of a following field identifier.