This review requires a little backstory/explanation first: I used to make petty cash by printing the Older “PVC” style Illinois licenses, they weren’t too complicated to make and the equipment was pretty cheap. I stopped doing that in late 2016 when the New Version of the Illinois ID began being issued because I could not justify the costs to make the switch and the material for the front and back lamination was just too hard to chase. When this vendor popped up here a few weeks ago offering an “In State pass Illinois”, I was skeptical that they could get the feel of the ID down. My philosophy has always been that you can get all the details and features down but if doorstaff that has handled thousands of the same ID will feel a difference in the lamination, its game over. I got in contact with the vendor about this and they offered to send out a copy for review at a discount similar to what is still being offered.
This review is not a review of that ID. While that was a promising ID, it had some issues that made it objectively not In State passable. I got in touch with the vendor and communicated the areas of improvement to them (Mainly concerning feel and lamination) and they sent out a second ID that had many revisions to it. This review is about that ID. While I was compensated in full for the second ID, this is not too much unlike most Vendor’s tendencies to reprint an ID that has problems that go beyond a user error RTP mistake. Given all that, I do not consider this to be an exception to my general policy of not reviewing IDs that were given at no-cost, however I do think it’s important in the nature of full disclosure to get that out of the way, as well as explain why my ID lacks some of the things many other reviews brought up, those were on the first ID copy.

With that out of the way, let’s dive in.

I got the chance to test the feel of this against two physicals: an U21 and an O21. I had the U21 for longer and that is what I was able to get consent for photography. I will update with an O21 of later issue later when I can get photography consent.
I am very familiar with the nIL, and have handled many.

Cost 9/10: Once the surcharges for user added signature and address were removed, the Base price of 100 USD and reselling rates became competitive. While I would not have given the original price model this rating, the current one is well within what other vendors are charging, as well as the reselling rates-while very specific-are competitive and actually on the lower end of prices.

Shipping 10/10: Speed was on the faster side for domestic, the RTP turnaround was fast, the second ID was packaged correctly (No hot glue. #GlueGate is over), was there in 4 days total (Order-Delivery).

Signature 10/10: While many noted theirs was too thin, I provided my own which I have used before and is ripped from an actual digital sig pad. Spacing, placement, thickness was all correct.

Template 9/10: In this section as I have done before I will be covering the in hand feel/lamination as well as the actual template.
This ID scores a 9/10 because while there are some areas of color matching that need tweaking, overall it is incredibly close to the actual ID’s colors and in most lights is very close. Microprint is clear across the board under 10x magnification, with nothing unusually blurry. State Seal is very well done as far as detailing, however is an area of slight color difference. Other areas of detail are spot on however, and compared to some other nIL fakes I have seen this blows the oversaturated blues and incorrect font colors out of the water. Driver’s license bar, as others have noted, will need slight tweaking, but it is not as noticeable as the discrepancies of the same feature on other fakes. Abe’s face and beard are spot on, however his suit needs slight darkening. Font around him is also clear under 10x.
As for info, the Zipcode and Middle Name are formatted correctly. Middle name should only be an initial on a nIL, and this has that correct, as well as it only prints the 5 digit zipcode, as IL does not print or scan the +4 extension. While those are small positives, given that the vendor has claimed “In state” they become incredibly important in that context. License number was also coded correctly as so that any Barbook Bouncer Nerd will be happy with it. Issuance date makes sense and is not on a Holiday or Sunday.
Now where most of this ID earns its 9/10 score is in the feel department. The bulk of the noes on the first ID they sent me concerned their back lamination being incorrect in a number of ways. This new ID has both the front and the back lamination so well matched that I decided to do a super unscientific test: I would have people blindfolded and then have them feel both a Real O21 nIL and the 21Done Fake. They would get three trials, and after I did this test with 9 people, no one got a 3/3 correct or right on the first time as to which ID they had first. People went in confident they could tell the difference in feel, however each person was unable to make the call as they all said if there was a difference, they did not feel confident in it. I felt the same way after spending some time with this ID. The front lam is the closest I’ve ever felt on a fake to the actual ID, and the contrast between the back lamination is just right. Because so many other nIL fakes I’ve had would not be able to hold a candle in this test due to laminations that were far too matte, this ID is scoring high despite some minor color matching imperfections-what it may lack in that department it makes up in being virtually indistinguishable in thickness, bending nature and feel.

Photoshop 10/10: Another note from my first copy of the ID was that the photo was spaced too perfectly; as odd as that sounds out of 5 physicals I had seen, they all had some dead air at the top. With that adjusted on this ID, the photo shopping is within the DMV standards and looks very natural.

OVI 9/10: Almost positive many others have the same OVI source, and this one is good, all the way visible, has the tri color hues, and is pretty much as good as you’ll get on a fake.
Perfs 9/10: After they were properly adjusted for this ID, while not 1:1 with the DMV, this is as close you can hope for on a fake, and they shine through in all lighting environments we tested.

UV: 9/10: After a simple mistake on the first copy was corrected (Inversion error), this UV layer is one of the best I have seen on the nIL. Tested with a 365nm UV light (NitecoreTube) it is clear all the way through, the top hat has “Illinois” on it, a add on to the UV layer that is now on all nILs, but is not on many fake nILs. There is a slight error on the front UV, but it is barely noticeable. Because of that, the UV scores an easy 9/10 for being the most complete in any fake I have seen as of writing.

Scanning 10/10: After pulling the AAMVA formatting and giving it a thorough read through next to the real datapull, everything looks correct, it scans at stores IR scanners, scans on all the apps (Yes, even BCS, for the kids and shit). Have not scanned it on anything heavyweight like Intellicheck AgeID, however formatting appears to be 1:1, and it has passed at every venue and store I have taken it to.

MoneyShots:
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The Real Deal For Some Light Comparison:
https://ibb.co/wYgphJt

https://ibb.co/fFhTXNj

Wrapping it All Up: RECOMMENDED-While I am hesitant to recommend any new ID from a vendor, this one earned that score clearly and objectively. Based on the fact that I essentially acted as the guinea pig with my first copy and the mistakes have all been corrected bar the minor things mentioned above, this makes the 21Done nIL easily the best nIL I have reviewed or owned. The attention to detail on the temp is great and with a few tweaks it will be almost indistinguishable from the actual ID. While the lack of access to the actual inks used by the State will always prevent an objective 1:1 color match, this has poise to be so close as to being negligibly different. The UV even with a slight error is good, and includes an important feature. So far this ID has worked for me at every venue I have tried it at, except given that we talked about In State pass at the beginning, I think I should probably bring that up again.

While I personally have always advised using an out of state ID and grew up doing that, I recognize that many want to be able to use an ID in state, as well as noting that an ID is considered “In state” pass is a helpful tool for using it in the regional area of that state. So with that being said, I am completely confident in saying that if you wanted to do that, this ID will certainly work at some places in Illinois. I took a longish drive to put my word behind that, and the ID worked at semi strict places that checked UV and perfs. While I think there are changes to be made, this is the first nIL I would ever consider using in State, as the feel is absolutely there. With all the revision the vendor has made and the shipping times and costs, I feel confident recommending this ID, which is something I have not been able to say about a nIL in a long time.