California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new initiative to add driver’s license and other state-issued photo ID cards to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
The Golden States partnered with tech giants Apple and Google to make ID cards viewable on mobile devices like Apple’s iPhone and Android devices.
The state says digitized ID cards on Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will be valid at select businesses, but notably, be an acceptable form of ID for Transportation Security Administration’s airport security checkpoints.
Apple Statement on California Driver’s License Partnership
According to Apple’s statement, the partnership will leverage Apple’s privacy and security features to protect personally identifiable information. The DMV will only receive the information needed to approve or reject the request to add a driver’s license to Apple wallet.
Expected Use Cases for Digital Driver’s License and State IDs
Once added, only the information needed to complete transactions will be viewable, unless the user authorizes a request to present the full ID. For instance, a store selling alcohol will only need a way to verify that the customer is 21 or older before allowing a transaction to go through.
If someone loses the device hosting the ID added to Apple Wallet, the Find My app can lock and locate the device or erase the data in Apple Wallet.
This initiative is part of the DMV’s mobile Driver’s License pilot project. More than 500,000 California residents have already signed up to have their driver’s licenses added to their phones through the California DMV Wallet app. The DMV plans to register up to 1.5 million residents for the pilot program.
The digital driver’s license does not entirely replace physical driver’s licenses and ID cards. A physical driver’s license may still be necessary for some common uses, like a traffic stop or voting in elections. It does provide an alternative way for businesses that sell age-restricted products such as tobacco or alcohol to verify a customer’s age.
From Beta to Mainstream
The DMV will host two hackathons to improve the functionality of digital driver’s licenses and find new use cases for mobile Driver’s Licenses. A hackathon for private sector developers who can access the mobile drivers’ licenses is scheduled for October 1 at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View.
Sacramento will host a public sector hackathon on November 1 once a venue is selected and announced. Participants will receive access to tools and technical support for the month leading up to each hackathon.
Arizona, Maryland, Ohio, Colorado, and Georgia already have similar programs.
Government in the Digital Age
The California DMV’s mobile Driver’s License is part of its efforts to digitalize and secure records and simplify California residents’ record management.
In July, Ava Labs announced a collaboration with the DMV to put 42 million car titles on the Avalanche blockchain. This collaboration will include a mobile app for vehicle owners to manage their car titles.
The California DMV already has apps on Google Play and the Apple App Store. These apps enable users to access most of the DMV’s services, including registering a new vehicle, verifying their ID card, and doing a “liveness check.” The state already has mobile Driver’s License functionality included in the app.
