Californians will be able to use Apple Wallet for State ID
Apple’s long-term ambition to replace all the contents of your wallet takes another step forward, at least in home state California, where drivers licenses and state IDs will soon be supported and valid in Apple Wallet.
The news is that Californians will soon be able to add their driver’s licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet, providing a seamless and secure way to present driver’s licenses or state IDs using just an iPhone or Apple Watch.
Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, explained the advantages: “Whether using IDs in Apple Wallet to breeze through travel, or to securely verify age or identity at businesses, California driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet make ID presentment seamless — all with the security built into iPhone and Apple Watch.”
You’ll be able to use this digital ID at security checkpoints and businesses, as well as in select apps to verify their age or identity. The entire process is highly secure, only the information needed for any transaction is shared, and all information on the device is encrypted so no one else can get to it.
When adding an ID to Apple Wallet, the state-issuing authority receives only information they need to approve or deny adding the driver’s license or state ID. Apple and the state-issuing authority do not know when or where or with whom a user presents their driver’s license or state ID, and Apple doesn’t see or retain any presentment information that can be tied back to a user.
IDs in Apple Wallet are available in five other states: Arizona, Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, and Ohio. The plan has been a long time in planning, it was first announced back in 2021 with Arizona introducing the first system in March 2022.
The launch will be a part of the California DMV’s mDL pilot program. More information on California’s mDL pilot can be found at dmv.ca.gov/mDL.
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