Hair color field accuracy across states

Spent some time looking at how different states handle the hair color field on driver's licenses and how much accuracy actually matters in practice. The answer is more nuanced than I expected.

How states categorize hair color

Most states use a limited set of hair color designations: BLK (black), BRO (brown), BLN (blonde), RED (red/auburn), WHI (white), GRY (gray), SDY (sandy/strawberry blonde), BAL (bald), and sometimes OTH (other). The abbreviations vary by state and the number of categories ranges from as few as five to as many as ten.

States with fewer categories force more approximation. A person with dark auburn hair might be listed as BRO in a state with no red category, while the same person in a state with a RED/OTH category might be listed differently.

When it matters for verification

For a quick visual check, the checker looks at the ID hair color field and at the person in front of them. Obvious mismatches stand out — a card saying BLK for someone with clearly blonde hair would fail a casual check. Ambiguous cases (light brown vs sandy blonde) rarely cause issues because the categories themselves are ambiguous.

The more important consideration is internal consistency. If you submit a photo with clearly dark brown hair and choose BLN for the card, that's a visible mismatch that checkers notice. Match what's visible in your photo to the field value.

For novelty card ordering

Select the category that most accurately matches your actual hair color as it appears in the photo you submitted. Don't overthink the exact shade — pick the closest available option for the state you ordered. The field matters when it's wrong, not when it's approximately right.

A few states don't include a hair color field at all on the face of the license. If you ordered a state that omits this field, it's not an error — it's correct for that state's design.