At InstantCard, we are proud to provide Police & Firefighter ID Cards for departments around the country. Polcie and fire departments frequently come to us when they realize that it is time to update their ID card program. Often, however, these agencies are unaware of the security options available to them. First responders, especially, should have ID badges which are not only professional looking, but integrate the best security practices.

So, we made the following graphic. We labeled it “Police ID Badge Best Practices.” But, really, these are practices which should be implemented across all government/first-responder ID badge programs. We think these are very important. So important, in fact, that we included a link to a high-res, printable version of the infographic (find it after the image).

Even if your organization/department decides to print your ID cards with someone else, make sure they have these options in place before proceeding. Security is our first priority, and we are willing to bet it is yours as well.

Note: We will not print government/first-responder IDs without a valid e-mail from a verified organization.

Police ID badge best practices
First Responder ID Badge Best Practices PDF

Here’s the text if you’d like to copy any of it:

1. Holographic Overlay

A holographic Overlay is one of the best fraud-resistent measures. As the ID is rotated shapes appear, disappear, & change colors.

2. Supervisor Signature

A signature is not easily forged. The signature of your department head also adds greater credibility to your ID badge program.

3. Ghosted Image

For even greater security, you can add a second, faint image on the ID. This prevents someone from simply pasting their photo onto a genuine ID.

4. Overlapping Data

Overlapping the issuing date over the ghosted image further prevents fraudulent tampering with a genuine ID.

5. Address / Phone Number

The  badge should contain a phone number which anyone may call, 24/7, to verify the officer’s identity. An address aids in the returning of lost IDs.

6. Department Seal

It should be absolutely clear that the ID is associated with your specific department. In this example, for further security, we also included a watermark of the seal.