Smiles No Longer Encouraged by DMV

HUNTERDON COUNTY, N.J. — Some people who recently received a driver’s license from the state of New Jersey are disappointed. New Jersey’s Department of Motor Vehicles no longer wants people to smile in their license photos.

Officials say people can have a pleasant look on their face and possibly a slight, closed mouth smile, but no full-fledged smile that shows a lot of teeth.

The Garden State’s DMV says it’s not about encouraging people to frown. They don’t want to disrupt the state’s new facial recognition software program. Administrators say a big smile could be cause for alarm and make more work for them.