The photo of Marty used on his driver's license.
- "Recognizing the outline of a police cruiser, Marty quickly killed the lights and turned off the radio. It would not do, of course, for him to be picked up by the police. Even forgetting the fact that he had just arrived from a different time period, he would have great difficulty explaining the DeLorean, plus he did have the necessary registration papers for it or even a 1955 driver's license. He wondered what the officers would say if he showed them his 1985 license!"
- —From Back to the Future by George Gipe (quote, page 78)
A driver's license was an official document issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in the United States, enabling the holder to drive a motor vehicle without supervision after passing their driving test.
History
Marty McFly had passed his driving test, and showed his 1985 California Driver License to Emmett Brown in 1955 as proof that he had come from the future.
The details on Marty's driver's license, which was embossed with the Official Seal of the State of Wyoming (odd that, as Marty lives in California), and bore a color head-and-shoulders photograph of Marty in the bottom left-hand corner, with a smaller image of the photo opposite, were as follows (starting at the top and working down):
- The top line showed the license's expiry date as 06-09-87 (June 9, 1987), the license number 10261985 and the category 'Class: C'.
- Marty's name and address details were Martin McFly / 9303 Lyon Drive / Hill Valley / CA 95420
- Other identifying details were Sex: M, Hair: BRN, Eyes: BLUE, Ht: 05-04, Wt: 145.
- Marty's signature read Martin J. McFly.
- On the bottom line, Marty's birthdate was given as 06/09/1968 (June 9, 1968) and the code alongside it read 00 11 051955.
Behind the scenes
- The "driver's license" that is commonly sold as BTTF merchandise was never actually shown on-screen in Back to the Future, nor is there any indication that it is a replica of an actual movie prop. It was created in the 1990s as a souvenir. In the movie, Marty shows Doc a plastic-coated card and notes that it says "expires 1987" as well as saying "Look at my birthday, for crying out loud. I haven't been born yet!" Since Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd were facing the camera when the scene was filmed, only the back of the card is actually seen. The June 9 birthday on the prop, of course, is based on Fox's birthdate of June 9, 1961, changed to 1968 since Marty is 17 years old in 1985.
- If the license number 10261985 is split up into three parts like this, 10|26|1985, it becomes the date October 26, 1985. Also, if the same thing is done to the code alongside Marty's birthdate (ignoring the zeros), it becomes November 5, 1955.
