Mobile driver’s licenses are almost mainstream in the US

Another couple U.S. states are considering the benefits of digital identification.

New Mexico legislators, with the encouragement of the state’s motor vehicle department, have introduced a bill that would make mobile driver’s licenses legal and create an ID verification service.

A lower state house member in Idaho is testing the water with the idea through media interviews.

And in Australia, an academic observes how digital IDs have by and large won popular acceptance in states in no small measure due to having security procedures that assuage most public concerns.

New Mexico’s legislation generally follows the path of other U.S. states that now have digital ID laws. The new document, for instance, does not replace physical IDs. Both would have to be carried by anyone controlling a vehicle, motorcycle and some electric bikes.

The state would publish a list of third-party vendors who are approved to create digital IDs for New Mexicans.

Of course for every successful state digital ID program there are several abandoned bills.

North, in Idaho, a state representative is giving interviews on her potential bill legalizing mobile driver’s licenses. She’s trying to indirectly drum up support among her colleagues, potentially getting co-sponsors for any bill she might introduce.

Meanwhile, Arathi Arakala of RMIT University in Australia, has posted a confidence-bolstering account of how secure mDLs are.

The state of Victoria last year began rolling out the documents in stages, so Arakala might be addressing some lingering concerns. He runs through all the standard pros and some details other governments should consider.

For instance, personal information can be verified using a QR code on the license screen. There’s a two-minute expiration to the code, during which data is shown to be valid and current.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  consumer adoption  |  digital ID  |  legislation  |  mDL (mobile driver's license)  |  New Mexico  |  United States