Your driver’s license could start getting worn down a lot starting in December . That’s because a whole bunch of businesses will soon be required to ask you for your ID, everyone from your dentist to your car dealer.

It’s a mandate from Federal “Red Flag Rules” intending to stop identity theft before it starts by requiring customer ID at a range of businesses and services.

Which ones? Well, basically any company that performs a service and then gets payment after the service is complete. This includes but is not limited to: utilities, health care providers, law firms, your cellphone company, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and car dealers.

If the business helps arrange any kind of credit, they will also have to ask for ID.

Put into place by a 2003 law, enforcement of the Red Flag Rule has been delayed 5 times as various types of businesses have lobbied to limit its scope, most recently pushing back a June 1st 2010 date to December 31.

FTC Extends Enforcement Deadline for Identity Theft Red Flags Rule [FTC]

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