A Pastafarian driver’s license photo with a colander is possible in some states and impossible in others, and even within a single state the answer can change from one DMV office to the next. Whether you succeed depends less on the First Amendment in the abstract than on two practical questions: does your state give religious accommodations any extra legal weight, and can you convince the clerk in front of you that your belief is sincere and part of your daily life rather than a one-time gag for the camera.
Sincerity Is the Whole Fight
Every religious accommodation request, from any faith, requires a sincerely held belief. For mainstream religions, clerks rarely question sincerity. For Pastafarians, sincerity is the entire battleground, and the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s satirical origin as an open letter opposing intelligent design in schools works against you before you say a word.
A federal district court in Nebraska put this on the record in Cavanaugh v. Bartelt (2016), concluding that “FSMism is not a ‘religion’ within the meaning of the relevant federal statutes and constitutional jurisprudence. It is, rather, a parody, intended to advance an argument about science, the evolution of life, and the place of religion in public education.”1United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. Cavanaugh v Bartelt, Case No 4:14-cv-03183 The ruling binds only that district, but any DMV in the country can point to it when denying a request.
State agencies apply their own filters on top. Some require that religious headgear be “usually and customarily worn whenever the person appears in public,” meaning at work, at school, and in daily life. If the colander only comes out for the license photo, that requirement alone ends the conversation. The EEOC has laid out the factors that undercut a sincerity claim: behaving inconsistently with the professed belief, seeking a benefit that is desirable for non-religious reasons, and suspicious timing.2Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Section 12 Religious Discrimination A DMV clerk sizing you up is running through several of those factors at once.
What this means in practice: if you want a real shot, your practice has to look like a practice. Wear the colander regularly. Be able to describe your beliefs coherently and treat them the way you would any other faith commitment. A one-time appearance at the counter with a colander from your kitchen drawer is the profile clerks are trained to deny.
Where You Live Matters
The federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 protects religious exercise from substantial government burdens unless the government shows a compelling interest pursued by the least restrictive means.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 2000bb – Congressional Findings and Declaration of Purposes The Supreme Court later limited federal RFRA to federal actions, and roughly 30 states responded by passing their own versions that apply to state agencies, including DMVs. If you live in a state RFRA jurisdiction, the DMV’s headgear policy has to survive that heightened standard when it burdens a sincere religious practice. If you don’t, a neutral rule banning all head coverings applies to you the same as to everyone else under Employment Division v. Smith.4Justia Law. Employment Division v. Smith 494 US 872 (1990)
Legal framework aside, outcomes on the ground are inconsistent even inside a single state. Most DMV photo policies give front-line staff and supervisors discretion over religious headgear requests. An accommodating supervisor at one office may approve what a stricter supervisor across town denies. Pastafarians in Arizona and elsewhere have reported trying multiple motor vehicle offices before finding one that would take the photo. Office-shopping is not a legal strategy, and a license obtained that way could theoretically be revisited if the state later reviews its records, but it reflects how the system actually works.
Prepare Before You Go
Walking in cold and putting a colander on your head at the counter is the fastest route to a denial. Preparation is what separates an accommodation request from a disruption.
Start on your state motor vehicle agency’s website. Look for a religious head covering policy or an accommodation request procedure. Some states have written processes; follow them exactly. Draft a short written statement explaining that wearing the colander is part of your sincerely held religious practice, not a joke, and that you wear it customarily in public. The U.S. State Department uses a signed statement of this kind for passport photos with religious headgear, and modeling your DMV documentation on that format is a reasonable baseline.
Bring anything that supports consistent practice: photos of yourself wearing the colander in daily life, records of Pastafarian gatherings you attend, written expressions of your beliefs. You may never need to produce it. If you do, having it ready is the difference between an appeal you can win and one you can’t.
At the Counter
Tell the intake clerk calmly and immediately that you are requesting a religious headgear accommodation. Present your written statement. Keep the register matter-of-fact. The moment you signal that the colander is funny rather than religious, you have handed the clerk their reason to deny you.
If the clerk refuses or hesitates, ask to speak with a supervisor. Escalation is standard for accommodation decisions and is not confrontational. Supervisors often have authority the clerk does not.
Photo Requirements the Colander Has to Meet
Getting the headgear approved is only half of it. The photo itself still has to comply with the technical standards that apply to any religious head covering. Federal REAL ID regulations require a “full facial digital photograph” taken to an international biometric imaging standard.5eCFR. 6 CFR 37.17 – Requirements for the Surface of the Driver’s License or Identification Card Your face has to be fully visible from forehead to chin and ear to ear, with no shadows across your features.
Pick a colander that sits high on the crown of your head, not one that drops down over your forehead. Metal colanders cast the worst shadows under fluorescent DMV lighting. A small, lightweight strainer worn high keeps the whole face visible. The technician can reject the photo on framing or shadow grounds even after approving the headgear, so the choice of colander is a practical decision, not a stylistic one.
If You’re Denied
A denial doesn’t have to be the end. Most states have an administrative review process for DMV decisions, with timelines and forums that vary by state. Some route appeals through DMV headquarters; others use a separate administrative hearing office. Before you leave the counter, ask for the denial in writing and ask how to appeal.
At an administrative hearing, you carry the burden of showing that your belief is sincere and that accommodating it doesn’t compromise the photo’s identification purpose. The hearing officer isn’t deciding whether Pastafarianism is a “real” religion in some ultimate sense. They’re deciding whether you personally hold and practice it. This is where the documentation you gathered before your visit does its work.
Federal Civil Rights Suit as a Last Step
If administrative appeals fail, 42 U.S.C. § 1983 lets you sue state or local officials who deprive you of constitutional rights while acting in their official capacity.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1983 – Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights A successful suit can produce compensatory damages, an injunction ordering the agency to issue the license, and a declaratory judgment affirming your rights. States themselves are not proper § 1983 defendants, but individual officials are, and government entities like a county DMV office may be.
The cost, time, and risk are real. Cavanaugh is the warning: if a court concludes Pastafarianism is satire rather than religion, you lose on the threshold question and never reach the accommodation analysis. The satirical origin also makes it harder to attract pro bono representation from civil rights organizations. Talk to a civil rights attorney before filing, and be honest with yourself about the strength of your sincerity evidence.
Passports Are a Separate System
If you’re thinking about a passport photo too, the rules are similar but the framework is not the same. The State Department requires a signed statement verifying that the head covering is part of traditional religious attire you customarily or are required to wear continuously in public, with your full face visible and no shadows. Federal RFRA applies directly to passport decisions, so the government must show a compelling interest before denying an accommodation. At the DMV, you get that heightened protection only if your state has its own RFRA. The practical hurdle is identical: the “continuously in public” language means the signed statement is difficult to make truthfully if the colander only appears when a camera does.