Mobile driver’s licenses reach public availability in New South Wales, Colorado, Oklahoma

Digital Driver’s Licenses (DDLs) became generally available on smartphones for drivers in New South Wales over the weekend, Xinhua reports, following successful trials in several areas, including the eastern suburbs of Sydney.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the digital license is intended to make things easier for citizens. She has it already been downloaded by 550,000 people, with a 97 percent approval rate.

“The DDL is hosted securely on the new Service NSW app, locks with a PIN and can be accessed offline. It will provide additional levels of security and protection against identity fraud, compared to the plastic driver licence,” Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said. “We are working closely with business and industry to have them come on board and accept the DDL. This includes nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, petrol stations, supermarkets, convenience stores and tobacco retailers.”

The project was originally announced in 2015, and slated for availability in 2018.

NSW is also planning to enable automatic payments for its public transport system with facial recognition.

Colorado digital license not accepted yet by police

The myColorado mobile app has officially added support for digitized state driver’s licenses, The Colorado Sun reports, though the digital version is not yet accepted by local police, or even all state agencies.

The app requires users to scan and take photos of their license, and then authenticate themselves as the license holder with biometric facial recognition. Gemalto has worked with the state on digital driver’s license testing, and said back in 2017 that it was one of the first states to pilot the idea.

Unlike some other states, Colorado’s idea is to use the digital ID with the centralized app for access to many services.

Authentication technology for the app is supplied by Ping Identity and ProofID, according to the report, and runs on AWS.

“Whether all aspects of Colorado society and business, such as law enforcement, bars, dispensaries and other outlets adopt and accept the use of the digital form remains to be seen,” Ping Identity Chief Customer Information Officer Richard Bird told The Sun. “But this is because of the realities of process change and human behavior, not technology.”

Citizens of Colorado will still need to carry their physical license, for now, as the state Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement do not yet accept the digital version. It can already be used to register to vote or renew a license, however. It is expected to go into force at all non-law enforcement state agencies on December 1.

The program is being watched by the Denver Police Department and Colorado State Patrol, and the state hopes law enforcement will accept the digital IDs by the end of 2020. The system is also expected to evolve over time to meet the requirements of the Transportation Security Administration’s REAL ID program.

Oklahoma app reaches general availability

The Oklahoma Mobile ID app is now available through Google Play and the App Store, following a five-month limited trial, according to fourstateshomepage.com.

The app captures information from the user’s physical driver’s license, and provides facial recognition among other security technologies.

The state, which has worked with Idemia to develop its digital driver’s licenses, said it would trial the system with about a thousand participants.

Article Topics

authentication  |  biometrics  |  Colorado  |  driver's license  |  facial recognition  |  identity document  |  mobile