New Licenses Will Be Forge-Proof, Gov’t Hopes

Over the next several years, the government plans to distribute new licenses to Israelis, replacing existing licenses. A Caesarea company called Pitkit has won a tender to provide the new licenses, which are supposed to be more difficult to forge. The company will produce licenses over the next six years, for new drivers and to replace licenses held by existing drivers.

Pitkit won the tender after a long, conflict-ridden contest with its chief rival, the Be’eri Press, located in Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, which had been in charge of printing the licenses until now. The tender was the subject of numerous lawsuits, in which the various bidders claimed that rules were broken and unfair treatment meted out to participants.

The new licenses will be made of several layers of a material called polycarbonate, which is very difficult to manufacture, and is likely to make it difficult to forge. The photos of drivers will be embedded in the material. The licenses will be manufactured in a closed facility in Israel, to prevent security breaches.

Pitkit employs about 100 people and is located in Caesarea. The company has in the past won several other government tenders, including one for the production of ID cards.