California’s mDLs are now available through Apple Wallet

Sep 20, 2024, 1:45 pm EDT | Masha Borak

California’s mDLs are now available through Apple Wallet

After offering mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) on Google Wallets, California will allow its residents to access identity documents on their iPhones and Apple Watches. The U.S. state has launched an option to add a driver’s license and state IDs in the Apple Wallet.

The new feature can be used for identification at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoints and select businesses selling age-restricted products such as tobacco, alcohol, fireworks and guns. Drivers, however, will still be required to carry a physical license in their vehicles and present them at the offices of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

The face biometrics and liveness detection technology that binds the individual to their physical ID in the Californian mDL is provided by iProov. Last year, the state announced that it selected TruAge as its age verification provider, a system developed by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and Conexxus.

The Apple Wallet addition is part of a wider mDL pilot in California, launched in 2023 as part of a statewide Digital Identity Framework and limited to 1.5 million participants. More than 625,000 Californians have added an mDL to their DMV Wallet, which was built by SpruceID, while the state is hoping to spread the digital ID to more government and private services in the future. The state DMV is hosting hackathons throughout October and November 2024 allowing developers to experiment with digital identity.

The launch is also an important milestone for Apple Wallet, as California is one of the largest states in the U.S. with a population of over 39 million.

“Enabling California residents to seamlessly add and present their IDs with their iPhone or Apple Watch represents a significant step in replacing the physical wallet with a more secure and private digital wallet,” says Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet.