iPhone Driver's Licenses May Soon Expand to New State

[MacRumors]

Driver's licenses and IDs may soon be available in Apple Wallet for iPhone and Apple Watch users who live in Utah. MacRumors discovered signs of a Utah ID in Apple's backend, suggesting Apple is moving forward on implementing support.

Utah already offers a mobile driver's license option through a standalone app, but there is no Apple Wallet integration. Utah's mobile driver's license FAQ page still says that it is still in the initial planning process of adding Utah IDs to Apple Wallet, but it may not be up to date.

The site also says that when Apple Wallet integration launches, iPhone users who already use the mobile app for their Utah ID will be able to download it to Apple Wallet.

Apple announced plans to add Utah driver's licenses and IDs to the Apple Wallet app way back in 2021, but no integration has materialized. Utah was one of the first states Apple mentioned when rolling out the feature.

Other states planning to add support for driver's licenses in Apple Wallet include Connecticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Virginia.

Multiple states have already implemented support, as has Puerto Rico.

• Arkansas
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Maryland
• Montana
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• West Virginia

Digital IDs and licenses are accepted at select TSA checkpoints across the United States. It can also be used at some business venues and in select apps that require ID verification for services or purchases.

In states that do not support licenses in the Wallet app, iPhone users can add their U.S. passport to the Apple Wallet app with the iOS 26 Digital ID feature.

Article Link: iPhone Driver's Licenses May Soon Expand to New State

 

[p96]

Does the phone stay locked when you display it? I can imagine situations where authorities take advantage of your unlocked phone.

 

[eclipse01]

Ugh, I got so excited for the 1% chance it could have been Wisconsin 🙁

 

[boswald]

Ugh, I got so excited for the 1% chance it could have been Wisconsin 🙁

Same with Florida, although I heard they might be going with their own app.

 

[alexandr]

Same with Florida, although I heard they might be going with their own app.

There already was an app, pretty sure it's gone now.

 

[Blackstick]

The problem is most police departments don’t accept it because they need the reader. Though the hologram effect as you tilt your phone is very neat. You can see I almost never use it.

 

[alexandr]

View attachment 2647522
The problem is most police departments don’t accept it because they need the reader. Though the hologram effect as you tilt your phone is very neat. You can see I almost never use it.

Showoff! 😀

 

[verdi1987]

Does the phone stay locked when you display it? I can imagine situations where authorities take advantage of your unlocked phone.

You tap it to transfer over NFC.

 

[dilgil]

Does the phone stay locked when you display it? I can imagine situations where authorities take advantage of your unlocked phone.

Same question. I would not hand over my unlocked phone to anyone including, or especially, the police.

 

[quietstormSD]

Pretty useless until it can be shown as valid ID to law enforcement. I still need to carry my ID everywhere.

 

[gummybear2026]

Does the phone stay locked when you display it? I can imagine situations where authorities take advantage of your unlocked phone.

Authorities can't search a phone without a search warrant, even if the device is unlocked. Also you can turn on Wallet under Allow Access with locked.

 

[Amazing Iceman]

Same with Florida, although I heard they might be going with their own app.

They did and it failed. They may try again, but Apple Wallet would be their best choice.

 

[mrgraff]

I have yet to encounter a chance to use my New Mexico digital ID...

 

[eric4]

Looking forward to having this when it's available!

I have the digital US Passport and it has worked at every US airport I've attempted - large and small and very small, although not every time. The person behind the TSA check stand may or may not know what they are supposed to do. I'm assuming airports will accept the digital Driver License as well.

The Utah Senate actually passed a bill this year to replace the existing mobile ID (which wasn't very good) with a "new digital identity" by January 1 2027. Apple Wallet was not mentioned in the bill, but it seems it will be the identity moving forward. https://dld.utah.gov/utah-mdl/

 

[jlyaamu]

Can’t believe Mississippi will be added before Alabama. 😩😂 We might just be last in everything…

 

[Corefile]

Authorities can't search a phone without a search warrant, even if the device is unlocked.

Oh you sweet innocent child!

 

[dugbug]

Can’t wait until they add the 50th entry, Florida

 

[flexwithmarius]

Does the phone stay locked when you display it? I can imagine situations where authorities take advantage of your unlocked phone.

It works exactly the same way as Apple Pay.

 

[August West]

I have yet to encounter a chance to use my New Mexico digital ID...

Likewise.

 

[slippery-pete]

Same question. I would not hand over my unlocked phone to anyone including, or especially, the police.

People need to do five seconds of research on how the technology works. 🤦‍♂️

 

[slippery-pete]

Does the phone stay locked when you display it? I can imagine situations where authorities take advantage of your unlocked phone.

🤦‍♂️ do a little research on how the technology works.

 

[Braz0s]

It works exactly the same way as Apple Pay.

That makes me feel a bit better but.....

 

[Plutonius]

Nice, I always wanted to get a driving license in another state 🙂.

 

[JustinKent]

Can’t wait until they add the 50th entry, Florida

Yes, and it will coincide with Apple renaming the Wallet app to the President Donald J. Trump app.

 

[Justin Cymbal]

Does the phone stay locked when you display it? I can imagine situations where authorities take advantage of your unlocked phone.

It should!

I use the Starbucks card (🍎wallet version) every day, granting me the ability to display/scan the barcode DIRECTLY from the lock screen without EVER even unlocking my phone! I could literally give my iPhone to a friend, they could bring it to Starbucks, scan and pay all without me giving them my passcode - because access is enabled simply by tapping the Starbucks barcode at the bottom of the lock screen (which auto displays within a geofence of all preselected/favorited stores within the Starbucks app) which then sync over to the Wallet app

It seems that having the ability to (temporarily) employ a similar concept with your mobile driver’s license would be an ideal way to implement this (for the exact use case of a traffic stop)

While waiting in your car (while pulled over) one could access their wallet app to potentially select an option of “enable traffic stop access” or whatever to be able to safely hand over your phone without compromising your data, if need be