<PAGE>

                                 UNITED STATES
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C.  20549

                                   FORM S-8

            REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933


                           VIISAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


       Delaware                                                  04-3320515
       --------                                                  ----------
(State of Incorporation)                    (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)


       30 Porter Road               Littleton, MA                      01460
       --------------               --------------                     -----
         (Address of Principal Executive Offices, including zip code)


     Viisage Technology, Inc. 1999 Stock in Lieu of Cash Compensation for
     --------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Directors Plan
                                --------------
                           (Full title of the plan)


                              Thomas J. Colatosti
                     President and Chief Executive Officer
                           Viisage Technology, Inc.
                                30 Porter Road
                              Littleton, MA 01460
                              -------------------
                    (Name and address of agent for service)


                                (617) 952-2200
                               ---------------
         (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)


                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
========================================================================================================
Title of securities    Amount to be    Proposed maximum     Proposed maximum         Amount of
to be registered       registered      offering price       Aggregate offering       registration fee
                                       per share/1/         Price/1/
========================================================================================================
<S>                    <C>             <C>                  <C>                      <C>
Common Stock, $0.001        150,066          $1.90625           $286,063.31                  $79.53
par value
========================================================================================================
</TABLE>


_________________________________

  /1/ Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee, in
accordance with Rule 457, on the basis of the average of the high and low prices
of Viisage Technology, Inc.'s Common Stock as reported on the NASDAQ National
Market on October 27, 1999.
<PAGE>

                                    Part II


              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
         ---------------------------------------

         Viisage Technology, Inc. (the "Company") hereby incorporates the
following documents by reference in this Registration Statement:

         (a) The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1998, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") on April 26, 1999.

         (b) The Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
March 28, 1999, filed with the Commission on May 12, 1999, and for the quarter
ended June 29, 1999, filed with the Commission on August 11, 1999.

         (c) The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the Commission on November 8,
1996.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all
shares registered hereunder have been sold or which de-registers all shares then
remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this
registration statement from the date of filing such documents.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.
         --------------------------

         Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of named experts and counsel.
         --------------------------------------

         The legality of the Common Stock being offered by this Registration
Statement will be passed upon by Finnegan, Hickey, Dinsmoor & Johnson, P.C.,
(the "Firm"), 175 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. Charles J.
Johnson, a principal of the Firm, serves as a director of the Company. As such,
Mr. Johnson owns shares and has vested and unvested options to purchase shares
of Company Common Stock, as disclosed in the Company's Registration Statement on
Form S-1, as filed with the Commission on November 8, 1996.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Officers and Directors.
         -----------------------------------------

         The Company's By-laws provide that the Company, subject to limited
exceptions, will indemnify its directors and officers and may indemnify its
other employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware
law.

                                      -2-
<PAGE>

         In addition, the Company's Certificate of Incorporation provides that,
to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, the Company's directors will
not be liable for monetary damages for breach of the directors' fiduciary duty
of care to the Company and its shareholders. The Certificate of Incorporation
does not eliminate the directors' duty of care and, in appropriate
circumstances, equitable remedies such as an injunction or other forms of non-
monetary relief would remain available under Delaware law. Each director will
continue to be subject to liability for breach of the director's duty of loyalty
to the Company, for acts or omissions not in good faith or involving intentional
misconduct or knowing violations of law, for acts or omissions that the director
believes to be contrary to the best interests of the Company or its
shareholders, for any transaction from which the director derived an improper
personal benefit, for acts or omissions involving a reckless disregard for the
director's duty to the Company or its shareholders when the director was aware
or should have been aware of a risk of serious injury to the Company or its
shareholders, for acts or omissions that constitute an unexcused pattern of
inattention that amounts to the abdication of the director's duty to the Company
or its shareholders, for improper transactions between the director and the
Company and for improper distributions to shareholders and loans to directors
and officers. This provision also does not affect a director's responsibilities
under any other laws, such as the federal securities laws or state or federal
environmental laws.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.
         -----------------------------------

         Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits.
         --------

         The exhibits required to be filed as part of this Registration
Statement are listed in the attached index to Exhibits.

Item 9.  Undertakings.
         ------------

        a)  The Company hereby undertakes:

               1)  to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment of this registration statement (i) to include
any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; (ii)
to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective
date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment
thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
in the information set forth in the registration statement; (iii) to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement; provided however, that paragraphs
(a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the registration
statement is on Form S-3, Form S-8 or Form F-3, and the information required to
be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in
periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant
pursuant to

                                      -3-
<PAGE>

section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are
incorporated by reference in the registration statement;

               2)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof; and

               3)  to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

        b)  The Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any
liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Company's annual
report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of the securities at that time shall be deemed to be
the initial bona fide offering thereof.

        h)  Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Company has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and
is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in
the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of counsel the matter has
been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.

                                      -4-
<PAGE>

                                  SIGNATURES


     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Company
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly
authorized in Littleton in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on
October 28, 1999.

                                           VIISAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.


                                           By: /s/ Thomas J. Colatosti
                                               ---------------------------------
                                           Thomas J. Colatosti
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer

                                      -5-
<PAGE>

                                 EXHIBIT INDEX

Item 8.  Exhibits

       4.1*    Specimen stock certificate.


       5.1     Opinion of Finnegan, Hickey, Dinsmoor & Johnson, P.C. as to the
               legality of the shares being registered.

      23.1     Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP

      23.2     Consent of Finnegan, Hickey, Dinsmoor & Johnson, P.C. (included
               in Exhibit 5.1)

      24.1     Power of Attorney

*Incorporated by reference from the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1
(SEC File No. 333-10649) dated November 8, 1996.

                                      -6-
[{"type": "S-8", "sequence": "1", "description": "FORM S-8", "secsgml_size_bytes": 12413}]
{"company-data": {"conformed-name": "VIISAGE TECHNOLOGY INC", "cik": "0001018332", "assigned-sic": "7373", "irs-number": "043320515", "state-of-incorporation": "DE", "fiscal-year-end": "1231"}, "filing-values": {"form-type": "S-8", "act": "33", "file-number": "333-90177", "film-number": "99739593"}, "business-address": {"street1": "VIISAGE TECHNOLOGY INC", "street2": "30 PORTER ROAD", "city": "LITTLETON", "state": "MA", "zip": "01460", "phone": "6179522200"}, "mail-address": {"street1": "VIISAGE TECHNOLOGY INC", "street2": "30 PORTER ROAD", "city": "LITTLETON", "state": "MA", "zip": "01460"}}
UNITED STATES
                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C.  20549

                                   FORM S-8

            REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                           VIISAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
            (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

       Delaware                                                  04-3320515
       --------                                                  ----------
(State of Incorporation)                    (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

       30 Porter Road               Littleton, MA                      01460
       --------------               --------------                     -----
         (Address of Principal Executive Offices, including zip code)

     Viisage Technology, Inc. 1999 Stock in Lieu of Cash Compensation for
     --------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Directors Plan
                                --------------
                           (Full title of the plan)

                              Thomas J. Colatosti
                     President and Chief Executive Officer
                           Viisage Technology, Inc.
                                30 Porter Road
                              Littleton, MA 01460
                              -------------------
                    (Name and address of agent for service)

                                (617) 952-2200
                               ---------------
         (Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
========================================================================================================
Title of securities    Amount to be    Proposed maximum     Proposed maximum         Amount of
to be registered       registered      offering price       Aggregate offering       registration fee
                                       per share/1/         Price/1/
========================================================================================================
Common Stock, $0.001        150,066          $1.90625           $286,063.31                  $79.53
par value
========================================================================================================
_________________________________

  /1/ Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee, in
accordance with Rule 457, on the basis of the average of the high and low prices
of Viisage Technology, Inc.'s Common Stock as reported on the NASDAQ National
Market on October 27, 1999.
Part II

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
         ---------------------------------------

         Viisage Technology, Inc. (the "Company") hereby incorporates the
following documents by reference in this Registration Statement:

         (a) The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1998, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
"Commission") on April 26, 1999.

         (b) The Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
March 28, 1999, filed with the Commission on May 12, 1999, and for the quarter
ended June 29, 1999, filed with the Commission on August 11, 1999.

         (c) The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the Commission on November 8,
1996.

         All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,
prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all
shares registered hereunder have been sold or which de-registers all shares then
remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this
registration statement from the date of filing such documents.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.
         --------------------------

         Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of named experts and counsel.
         --------------------------------------

         The legality of the Common Stock being offered by this Registration
Statement will be passed upon by Finnegan, Hickey, Dinsmoor & Johnson, P.C.,
(the "Firm"), 175 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110. Charles J.
Johnson, a principal of the Firm, serves as a director of the Company. As such,
Mr. Johnson owns shares and has vested and unvested options to purchase shares
of Company Common Stock, as disclosed in the Company's Registration Statement on
Form S-1, as filed with the Commission on November 8, 1996.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Officers and Directors.
         -----------------------------------------

         The Company's By-laws provide that the Company, subject to limited
exceptions, will indemnify its directors and officers and may indemnify its
other employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware
law.

                                      -2-
In addition, the Company's Certificate of Incorporation provides that,
to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, the Company's directors will
not be liable for monetary damages for breach of the directors' fiduciary duty
of care to the Company and its shareholders. The Certificate of Incorporation
does not eliminate the directors' duty of care and, in appropriate
circumstances, equitable remedies such as an injunction or other forms of non-
monetary relief would remain available under Delaware law. Each director will
continue to be subject to liability for breach of the director's duty of loyalty
to the Company, for acts or omissions not in good faith or involving intentional
misconduct or knowing violations of law, for acts or omissions that the director
believes to be contrary to the best interests of the Company or its
shareholders, for any transaction from which the director derived an improper
personal benefit, for acts or omissions involving a reckless disregard for the
director's duty to the Company or its shareholders when the director was aware
or should have been aware of a risk of serious injury to the Company or its
shareholders, for acts or omissions that constitute an unexcused pattern of
inattention that amounts to the abdication of the director's duty to the Company
or its shareholders, for improper transactions between the director and the
Company and for improper distributions to shareholders and loans to directors
and officers. This provision also does not affect a director's responsibilities
under any other laws, such as the federal securities laws or state or federal
environmental laws.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed.
         -----------------------------------

         Not applicable.

Item 8.  Exhibits.
         --------

         The exhibits required to be filed as part of this Registration
Statement are listed in the attached index to Exhibits.

Item 9.  Undertakings.
         ------------

        a)  The Company hereby undertakes:

               1)  to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment of this registration statement (i) to include
any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933; (ii)
to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective
date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment
thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change
in the information set forth in the registration statement; (iii) to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement; provided however, that paragraphs
(a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section do not apply if the registration
statement is on Form S-3, Form S-8 or Form F-3, and the information required to
be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in
periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant
pursuant to

                                      -3-
section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are
incorporated by reference in the registration statement;

               2)  that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof; and

               3)  to remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

        b)  The Company hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any
liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Company's annual
report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of the securities at that time shall be deemed to be
the initial bona fide offering thereof.

        h)  Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Company has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such
indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and
is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in
the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of counsel the matter has
been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.

                                      -4-
SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Company
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, hereunto duly
authorized in Littleton in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on
October 28, 1999.

                                           VIISAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.

                                           By: /s/ Thomas J. Colatosti
                                               ---------------------------------
                                           Thomas J. Colatosti
                                           President and Chief Executive Officer

                                      -5-
EXHIBIT INDEX

Item 8.  Exhibits

       4.1*    Specimen stock certificate.

       5.1     Opinion of Finnegan, Hickey, Dinsmoor & Johnson, P.C. as to the
               legality of the shares being registered.

      23.1     Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP

      23.2     Consent of Finnegan, Hickey, Dinsmoor & Johnson, P.C. (included
               in Exhibit 5.1)

      24.1     Power of Attorney

*Incorporated by reference from the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-1
(SEC File No. 333-10649) dated November 8, 1996.

                                      -6-