California Driver’s Licenses in Apple Wallet Largely Symbolic
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.
Although Apple makes this launch sound impressive, it’s largely symbolic since you must continue to carry your driver’s license or state ID card. It’s part of California’s mobile driver’s license (mDL) pilot program, and reading more closely reveals that digital ID support is limited to unspecified businesses and TSA PreCheck at 27 participating airports around the US. California says, “Law enforcement, state government agencies, and businesses aren’t yet accepting the mDL.” The state also provides its own CA DMV Wallet app for iOS and Android.
California joins five other states in supporting digital IDs in Apple Wallet, including Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio. My home state of New York could appear on that list soon, too, since it just announced its own Mobile ID (MiD) program, with apps for iOS and Android. None of these digital IDs eliminate the need to carry a physical ID card either. Sadly, it seems as though it will take years before digital and physical IDs can be used interchangeably.
With regards to:
I didn’t realize that in the U.S. you were required to carry some sort of ID. You can’t just go for walks or hikes or shopping or whatever without an ID on you?
The reason I was thinking about this was all the talk about illegal aliens and I was thinking how attempts at massive roundups would obviously discriminate against anybody who looked Hispanic, but since you weren’t required to have ID on you how could they tell?
Technically, you are NOT required to carry an ID for most purposes in the US. It is a good idea because many transactions may require an ID. Driving, of course, requires a license, and currently even with an electronic ID you probably need your original license. New York recently implemented electronic IDs, (unfortunately not Apple wallet compatible), but the DMV has stated that they are working towards making it a valid substitute for the paper ID. For example, police will need scanners and procedures to handle electronic ID; liquor stores and bars will need readers, etc. TSA at many airports will recognize the electronic ID already.
On the other hand, IDs are not required to vote in NY and many states. And NY issues driver’s licenses to non-citizens, even those without legal residency status.
As to your point, it is not constutionally permissible to stop random people and check for citizenship without probably cause. Nor is it legally permissible to stop people because they “look hispanic.”
Technically correct, but in practice, law enforcement stops people for made-up reasons all the time in the US, especially in the South and in more rural areas. And these fake stops happen overwhelmingly to non-white persons. If it happens to you, you may be able to get some legal recompense afterward, but in the moment, you’re generally going to be dependent on the officers’ good will.
Not the case in Ohio as you still need a physical license for driving and voting:
What is the benefit of having no physical driving license anymore? I always have my wallet with my passport, driving license etc with me anyways.
I could see a digital ID being handy if a bartender wants to glance at it, but in no circumstance would I ever hand my phone to a police officer or TSA.
I’d be curious to see a redacted view of one of these digital IDs. My assumption has been that there’s some sort of scannable code, like a QR code, that police or a bartender could scan as well as look at.
Apple says:
Or you could just drive clean and legal. Just a thought. If you give them no pretext, there will be no pre-textual stop.
But you speed past them 20 above the posted limit with expired tags, obscured plate, tinted windows, and no mud flaps, they will stop you. As they should. Regardless of skin color. And you will have brough that entirely on yourself so no need to whine and cry foul.
Let’s stay on the topic of digital IDs and driver’s licenses.
One reason for this in California (where I live) might be that the routine procedure for any traffic stop by law enforcement is for the officer to request your “license and registration,” and then take both of these documents back to his or her car to check for outstanding arrest warrants (I presume that’s what they’re checking). I imagine the state doesn’t want their officers to be in even temporary possession of someone’s phone, deal with it locking itself before they can check it, etc.
That’s exactly the point. Same reason they tell you to have your vehicle registration and proof of insurance printed on paper rather than some grainy cell phone image.
Now sure, all LE could be issued readers so that they can take the reader back to their cruisers instead of your plastic DL. The question is then if billions of tax payer $ shall be spent on issuing every cop a reader just so a select few special people with special needs can forgo taking a 1/3-oz piece of plastic with them when they drive their 2-ton MV on a public roadway.
Apple says people don’t need to show their device. To me that implies no QR code, but rather NFC or Bluetooth (TSA actually says BT has to be on). That would also match what I see at TSA checkpoints where people appear to just tap their iPhones against an NFC reader.
When I’m not driving (say, going for a walk in the park, grabbing takeout food or groceries) I just carry my phone and house key. No need for a wallet, more room in the pockets.
If and when this gets rolled out, you won’t unlock or hand your phone to anyone; you’ll tap it against their device like you do when paying with Apple Pay. That will exchange some sort of token that the officer will be able to use to pull up your full ID from the issuing authority on their device.
They have phones with NFC readers already, just like everyone else. All that needs to be rolled out is an official app that can validate against the DMV database.
I wouldn’t be comfortable with officers having access to everything on my unlocked phone as they sit in their car. I don’t have anything to hide, but it really doesn’t seem like a good idea.
This would be much more acceptable if they could instantly read the info from my iPhone as I hold it out the window for them.
California currently has its own digital license app (which is not useful except for age verification at a few liquor stores and TSA at a few airports). The app is supposed to work by unlocking it and presenting a QR code to be read by an appropriate reader. The code is not static, so the reader must use logic to confirm that it comes from a live presentation, not a screenshot.
Interestingly, you can also put the app in reader mode to read the code. It shows modes for age verification, complete identity, and driving privileges.
The age verification checks give a ‘Yes’ or’ No’ response. Interestingly, I don’t see any restrictions on using the more restricted modes for folks who only need age verification (liquor stores, senior discount providers, etc.).
I tried to use that mode to read a screenshot of the QR code but got stuck in a processing loop.
I recently added mine in Ohio. Here’s a few screenshots:
This is what you see when you tap on the license itself in Wallet. It’s literally just the card’s background, your first name, and last initial. (I cropped out the remainder of the screen, which is just white space.)
This is what comes up when you tap the info icon. No personal information visible here at all.
Now, the interesting part is when you tap Driver’s License Info. It will not let you actually screenshot this information. This is what the screenshot looks like:
There’s actually full information there on the screen, but it’s automatically blanked in the screenshot. So, I took a picture of the iPhone screen with my iPad. With the full length of the info accounted for, and key info redacted, this is what it looks like:
This is pretty much all the information that’s on the front of my printed license. In Ohio, Class D is a standard vehicle license, and Restriction B is corrective lenses. (Excuse the screen reflections; they weren’t worth editing out.)
There is no scannable bar code anywhere in the information (unlike the printed card, which has a code on the back). It’s obviously meant to be used only with NFC.
As a LPR - Legal Permanent Resident / Green Card Holder, I am required to always carry my card.
Welcome to the Land of the Free!
f
PS Papieren bitte!
Thanks! @Quantumpanda’s screenshots confirm this for Ohio, at least. But I was intrigued by this image on the TSA page you linked, which suggests that a QR code could also be used (lower-right quadrant). I’ll bet some state digital ID setups offer a QR code because they can’t guarantee the NFC hardware and Bluetooth isn’t always reliable.
I assume this is the case everywhere. And in some states (like NJ), you also need to produce proof of auto insurance. So that’s another piece of paper to always carry on your person.
No LE agency can expect officers to use their personal devices to carry out official duties. Much less so when those official duties need to hold up in court.
If people want LE to accept digital IDs instead of plastic, those folks are essentially asking for billions of tax $ to go towards equipping LE with readers. I know I personally would prefer such sums go toward equipment that actually makes LE better at catching criminals, not doohickeys that solve a non-problem.
I have the app on my phone but never had an opportunity to use it.
I try to avoid carrying my wallet whenever I can. I have a prescription at a Costco pharmacy that requires an ID. I have a photo of my driver’s license stored in the Notes app, but when I show it to the pharmacy staff, I get told they cannot accept a photo and I must show them the physical license. They have known me for years, but act as if they’ve never seen me before. I know they’re following the rules but it’s still aggravating.
I never carry a wallet, my license is tossed in the door pocket of my car when I go out (which does cause problems since I drive multiple cars and sometimes forget to take it out of the car). I mean, I’ve lost my license in my wallet in the past, so even that is not foolproof for me.
Diane
What makes you believe that they aren’t issued phones that are meant to be used for official business?
A device managed by the police department’s IT department shouldn’t have any such problems. IT could easily mandate that critical apps be installed and integrated with the department’s other systems, including sufficient permissions, backup and audit procedures to let it hold up in court.
Because i don’t need to believe. I know. From previous work I have a couple of beat cop friends and across several CA LE agencies (CHP, UCPD, and local PDs) none of them have been issued department devices. I do know of one agency that issues all their deputies department phones and that’s a SO in AZ.
C’mon, I know it’s en vogue to dump on LE, but these departments are not idiots. If they all had already spent hundreds of millions on iPhones to gift to their officers and deputies, they’d likely also know that a simple app they could procure for substantially less would solve this issue once and for all. They’re not idiots. They are however usually subjected to extremely tight budgets.
There are three types of departments right now: those that issue department smartphones for official use, those that attempt to manage their officers’ devices through MDM programs, and those that pretend their officers aren’t using their personal devices for official duties. The second two categories will probably dwindle away as time goes on.
This happens every day. In some cases, sure, some would-be evidence might be open to challenge in court – but this ain’t Law and Order; rarely is that even an issue.
LEOs in my town get $50,000 SUVs with $10,00 worth of upfitting; they get $2000 ruggedized laptops, $1500 rifles and $700 pistols, $1000 body-cams, and hundreds more worth of less-lethal weapons, medical kits, and PPO for daily carry.
But a $1000 smartphone would be too much for taxpayers to stomach?
No way. The public understands that cops need a basic set of tools, and a smartphone is a very basic tool for everyone these days. Obvious use cases abound – just being able to do a quick records search without having to radio it in, or go outside to their patrol vehicle, for example. Messaging specifics to other officers in the field, without relying on noisy radios. Real-time location sharing. Sharing photos of suspects in the field.
Obviously, as you note, this should be on a platform with management and records retention.
The NYPD and LAPD are already issuing smartphones (iPhones, no less) to officers. No surprise – they’re well-funded, and big-city officers are often away from their cruisers and their in-dash laptops. But expect every department to follow suit in the coming years – you can’t expect LEOs on the street to be without the technical resources that middle schoolers take for granted.
Speaking as a former pharmacy technician, I can tell you that ID rules for picking up medications are inflexible. It must be a physical ID, and how well they know you is irrelevant. In most places that require ID, the ID itself will be scanned and logged, which rules out using a digital ID unless the pharmacy has the right NFC interface to log the digital ID in their system (which is going to take time to get in place, if any pharmacies decide it’s worthwhile to do).
I agree that such requirements can be aggravating, but these rules are in place to protect you, the patient. The vast majority of places that require ID to pick up prescriptions do so only on controlled substances, and it’s done to curb diversion to street markets. It also protects you from having to pay full price for your medication if your prescriptions were picked up by someone you didn’t authorize, as having the ID of the person who picked them up logged provides evidence to the insurance company that you didn’t receive the medication, so that they will pay for redispensing.
Just another one of those things that pharmacy workers are dealing with behind the scenes that the customers aren’t normally aware of, and yet another of the reasons that they can’t just pull your pills off the shelf and hand them to you when you bring in the script.
Many digital IDs use a QR code display rather than an NFC. For example, my medical plan ID does so. Amusingly, my Walgreens discount ID uses NFC, while my CVS ID uses a QR code.
This does bring up some privacy concerns that typical pharmacy people can’t answer. Since the personal ID info is sensitive, as well as the well known HIPAA Reg related data, security pros have reasonable questions. Do you have any insights on these issues:
The iPhone supposedly does a good job of protecting the data internally, but what happens after the pharmacy scans the info off a phone screen or an actual card?
Is it already or immediately encrypted? (I’d hope it would be stored encrypted.) Can it be read/copied/written-down by the technician? Is it used at all by the local pharmacy in ID verification? Who has access to it in the local or national pharmacy database(s)? How long is it retained? What organizations is the info shared with? You mentioned insurance companies may need to look at it (and I’d guess possibly other LE orgs) – is a warrant required?
Stuff like that. Or did I sign away all my privacy rights scribbling on the little screen with my finger?
True, but in Ohio, at least, most pharmacies are not typically equipped to read the codes on the back of Ohio drivers’ licenses. They instead run the magnetic stripe through a swiper. Ohio law doesn’t require logging an ID for controlled substances, but some chains have that as a corporate policy, and IDs must be logged for all purchases of pseudoephedrine products.
Not every 2D code is technically a QR code—we just tend to use that as a generic term for them. QR codes are a specific format of 2D scannable code, but there are several others (just as there are several formats for 1D bar codes). The 2D code on the back of Ohio drivers’ licenses does not use the QR format—it’s not even a square code—and the software would need to be equipped to read the particular format they use. The only systems I know for certain are equipped to read it are those used by law enforcement in Ohio.
Even more amusing is that the Giant Food (grocery chain) app, when adding a card to the iOS Wallet, simply adds a card with the same bar code that the corresponding physical card has. Not even QR.
But it works fine with the store’s scanner, which was designed for the physical card.,
Does it resemble one of these:
Wikipedia: 3D barcodes.
The one on my Virginia license is PDF417, which is a standard used by DHS for RealID-compliant ID cards.
An example of PDF417 (from Wikipedia, not my driver’s license) is:
(Warning: This gets a bit long and potentially tedious.)
Data privacy in pharmacies (and I’m speaking specifically of the area that dispenses prescription medication, not the rest of the store) is almost exclusively governed by HIPAA, including ID logs, and HIPAA is quite comprehensive.
Every pharmacy employee is required to undergo HIPAA training before they can start working behind the counter, and periodic refresher training is standard. HIPAA violations are taken very seriously in pharmacies. You are generally not going to be at risk of having any information leaked by pharmacy staff, and if any is, the person who does it will be penalized, often severely; for the most egregious offenses, the worker is blacklisted from employment in pharmacy (in addition to other penalties). Jail time is even sometimes involved for the worst cases.
I don’t know the technical details of the security involved, but I would be surprised if modern prescription data isn’t encrypted at every stage. Robust data encryption is mandated for receiving electronic prescriptions (the default these days). Pharmacies still have to maintain physical files for prescriptions received on paper (uncommon now, but still a measurable amount of traffic, especially in less urban areas), but access to those is restricted to HIPAA-trained pharmacy staff, and physical access to these files is rarely needed. And once the prescription information is entered into the computer, it is subject to the same protections as that received electronically.
When ID verification is required, it is logged by computer. There is no actual validation of the card info; it is simply logged. For prescription pickup, the card data is re-accessed only when there is reason to question who picked something up. The ID logs for pseudoephedrine are sent to a state-level database to ensure that people cannot violate quantity limits by going to multiple stores, but it is still subject to all applicable HIPAA provisions.
The only access to any of this data is by pharmacy staff, corporate staff (still requiring HIPAA training), and law enforcement (only when appropriate, not as a matter of course). Normally, when this data is provided to law enforcement, it is most often the pharmacy that determines law enforcement needs to be involved, not the other way around, so warrants are not commonly involved. If law enforcement approaches the pharmacy for this data, most pharmacies will be cooperative, because it’s in their best interests to do so—they can be liable for prescriptions dispensed to unauthorized persons. So while warrants are not unheard of, they’re not commonly used or needed for this.
Insurance companies do not have access to ID logs unless law enforcement determines it is necessary; to prove to insurance that an unauthorized person picked up a prescription normally requires only that the person who picked it up have been properly logged, not that the actual log data be provided to the insurer. Such verification of logging would normally be conducted by phone, not via electronic messaging, and the actual log data isn’t seen by the insurance company unless the law requires it (which usually happens only in the event of legal proceedings of some sort). The statement that an unauthorized person picked up a prescription is normally going to be taken at face value by insurance personnel, unless the patient has a history of early refills (actual or attempted), so it’s usually just a matter of the pharmacy staffer getting an override to a “refill too soon” rejection.
There are no “pharmacy databases” in the sense that you appear to mean. Pharmacy data belongs to the individual store (and to corporate, if it’s a chain), and is not accessible from outside the company except by going directly through a staff member of the store or chain in question. In many cases, only limited data is accessible to other stores in the same chain, and ID logs are not normally part of that. (This is all excepting pseudoephedrine logs, which are required by law to be accessible to law enforcement and other pharmacies.) The only time such data is shared outside the chain of care is if a prescription is transferred between pharmacies or if a pharmacy is permanently closed. In the former case, only the data relating to the transferred prescription(s) and the specific patient is shared, again HIPAA-protected; this is considered under HIPAA to be an extension of the chain of care. In the latter case, the data is purchased in toto by another pharmacy in the area so that the prescriptions are not lost, and is also protected by HIPAA. As for length of data retention, retention of ID logs varies by state. Other prescription data may be retained indefinitely, as a patient’s prior medical history is relevant at least until their death (and, usually, settlement of their estate).
The “chain of care” involves doctors, insurers, pharmacies, other medical providers, and patients, and all data transferred between these entities is subject to HIPAA. (In the case of patients, they are technically not subject to HIPAA restrictions, as the patient and their designee(s) are the only persons authorized by the law to grant access to their own medical data outside the chain of care. It is by legal definition impossible for a patient to violate HIPAA with regard to their own data.)
It is of course possible, and actually not that uncommon, for pharmacy staff to write down on paper any information they have access to on the computer, but that doesn’t absolve them of HIPAA requirements. Waste paper in retail pharmacies is typically collected in shred bins that are periodically taken by third-party shredding contractors (Iron Mountain is a commonly used one) and the contents made unreadable prior to final disposal. Accidental disclosures are possible when anything is written down, but in practice that rarely happens because of the strength of HIPAA.
It is important to not underestimate the power of the HIPAA law. No other personal data in the US is subject to as stringent privacy laws as that which is protected by HIPAA. While the law does not mandate specific technological practices in detail, the non-specific requirements are fairly comprehensive, and most of the details are codified in supplementary laws and regulations (often at the state level). These requirements are continually being updated as technology advances.
So no, you aren’t signing away any privacy rights when you sign for your prescriptions. You’re affirming them.
At minimum, Ohio drivers’ licenses would use whatever is mandated for RealID for those IDs compliant with RealID. My own license is RealID compliant, and the format matches the start and stop patterns of the one you shared. (The actual code is much lengthier and taller than that.)
I don’t have access to a non-compliant ID, as both mine and my spouse’s are compliant, so I can’t readily verify whether the same format is used on non-compliant IDs, but I imagine it would be, since using a different format for non-compliant IDs would needlessly complicate matters.
You said that PDF417 is “a” DHS standard. That implies to me that there is more than one format DHS accepts for RealID. Is this the case?
Thanks for the details, very informative. But yet shows more massive caches of personal data that need to be carefully protected from malicious access, release, and ransom.
I only wish this were true. We can start with:
Layer in the places to which your pharmacy sells “anonymized” (but not really) prescription records.
Add in dozens of anecdotes I have from my 25 years in medical practice, including one time when I was walking through a Walgreens and the pharmacist recognized me and shouted across the crowded pharmacy waiting area “hey, Dr. Risley, I have a question about Jane Smith’s Zyprexa prescription.”
In my experience, pharmacies will pay a lot of lip service to HIPAA compliance (and HIPAA itself has loopholes you can float a supertanker through), but they’ll sell out patient privacy for a nickel if they can do so and remain “compliant.”
I remain cautiously optimistic about smartphone-enabled government photo ID. On the one hand, poorly implemented it could result in many more entities having access to much more information than they need with just an instantaneous scan, but done right they can affirm identity without over-disclosing.
Mine too. The sample I shared is from the Wikipedia page, not from a driver’s license. I just wanted to show an example of the format, so you and others could recognize it.
That was a typo. I was citing the Wikipedia page for PDF417, which says:
Of course, requiring ID for prescriptions varies by state. In NY, pharmacies do not require IDs – you can pick up a prescription by simply giving your address or phone number.
Yes, I mentioned this. In the states that do require an ID for pickup, most require it only for controlled substances. A relative few require it for all prescriptions, and this is continually changing (to the degree that I’m not sure that any states require ID for all prescriptions at this particular moment).
However, ID is required nationally for all purchases of pseudoephedrine products, whether prescription or OTC. This is why such products are kept behind the pharmacy counter. This is, of course, due to pseudoephedrine’s popularity as a component of street meth.
Nope, ID is required (and scanned) in NY for controlled substances, and you can’t get a CS prescription for more than 30 days, or with any refills. So scanned (into a database somewhere) every month. Privacy threat.
Add Illinois to the “coming soon” list.
Apple is moving us to a world in which we no longer have to carry a wallet or keys with us everywhere we go and I am all for it. My iPhone already replaced my iPod, Palm PDA and cell phone (and yes, I was carrying around all three of those at one point). To also not have to carry around my wallet would be awesome, and for the most part, the only thing I have to bring my wallet for nowadays is my driver’s license.
FYI: Mobile Driver’s Licenses and
the Costs To Privacy, Safety,
and Security. https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Mobile-Drivers-Licenses-and-the-Costs-to-Privacy-Safety-Security-2023.pdf
I take over a dozen prescriptions. Fortunately none are controlled substances and I do not show any ID for them in NY as I said above. Controlled substances are recorded as required by law, which I do not consider a problem nor a security risk whether traditional ID or electronic ID is used.
FWIW, I have non-compliant license from Minnesota. It has the Start Pattern and the Stop Pattern, but the patterns in the Left Row Indicator and the Right Row Indicator do not match the example that @Shamino posted. (And it appears to have 17 rows and 16 Data Codewords between what would be the Left and Right indicators, with a black bar rather than a white bar to delimit codewords. My tired old eyes might have miscounted.)
Sounds like it is also PDF417. Which makes perfect sense. Why implement two standards when one will do the job.
I wouldn’t expect your license to exactly match the example I shared. That’s just a sample intended to show what it looks like. But the standard supports different sizes in order to accommodate different amounts of data - just like QR does.
According to the Wikipedia article:
It appears (from my own license as well as the Wikipedia example) that each codeword (including the row indicators) always begin with a black box and end with a white box. So when you see them all stacked, you should see both a white and a black vertical line between the columns of codewords. Which you notice when you’re looking at it is, of course, a matter of perception.
My 22 year old daughter lost her DL/wallet at the Grand Canyon. They found it but not able to get it to her in time before flying back out of Las Vegas. She has a copy of her license on the LA Wallet app. Lousiana states it is valid just like regular license and we found an article about TSA accepting it as of a few months before traveling.
The airport (LAS) didn’t have a special reader or some sort of equipment(?) to confirm her identity (our vouching wasn’t sufficient even though our physical ID’s had same address). We had some correspondence with her name and address that matched (a birthday card from her grandmother) that made TSA able to “verify” the digital ID and get her on her way (extra 20min delay and supervisor involvement though).
We definitely agree with your conclusion: “Sadly, it seems as though it will take years before digital and physical IDs can be used interchangeably”. I’m hoping it may have made things perhaps a little easier though?
This got me to look at my state, one of the first to offer it. “The Mobile ID serves as a companion to a physical driver’s license or ID. You should always carry their physical driver’s license or ID.”
I’ve not read the many many comments here but, I wonder if this is not a law but, just something they want us to do until all the cops understand it is just as good? On mine, it just shows the state and my first name and last name initial. I have to hit the “i” button and then face ID knows it is me and then the exact same info as on the card comes up, including my ugly photo before I lost 50lbs.
Presumably, this is what the cop sees when he does whatever it is he does with a digital ID? I’ve not been pulled over in a decade and not ticketed for over 30 years…
I also have an image of my licence in my secure photo folder too. Often the card itself is needed for other stuff, which is bad and a security risk but, unavoidable sometimes.
You do not need an ID in the USA. To operate a motor vehicle, you need a license from your state. However, if a police officer stops you and asks for your name, you do have to give it. If they ask for an ID (license) and you have one, you have to give it. If you do not actually have one, you just say, I do not have one (rare and immediately raises red flags with the cop except in cities with mass transit). If they ask you more questions, you do not have to answer them. However, if you hide criminal activity by not answering, you can be in trouble. The cops are very good at intimidating people into thinking they have to talk then and there. But, mostly, you can give your name and license and then act deaf if you have done nothing wrong. But, again, most cops see this as not using your brain to protect your rights but, as a red flag. If they put you in cuffs, you can ask if you are being arrested. If yes, shut up! If they say no, they are detaining you, shut up! But know, they cannot detain you for long (and usually do not).
But the reality is, to do a lot of things, you need either a drivers license or a state issued ID. Many states issue one or the other to anyone who asks. For a drivers license, you have to pass an on screen test (what sign is this? etc.) and a driving test. For an ID, I dunno. Maybe proof you live in the state with bank account, utility bills, etc. In the non racist states, they do not care where you come from or your status but simply want you to drive safely and have a photo ID as needed for work, etc. The policing of illegal emigrants is the job of the feds, not the states. But all humans in the USA are provided basic protection and rights under the constitution.
US citizens are often mistaken by state or city cops as illegal emigrants but, that would be illegal policing activity. There is some variation to all above depending if you are standing in one state or another or on federal land (National Mall in DC, a national park, federal building, tribal lands, etc.).
The Ohio sample here is same as my state. Just different image decoration.
In most states, it’s clearly the law as in a shall, not a would be nice. You’re always welcome to test your luck though. Officers have discretion.
In CA, failing to present a driver’s license is an infraction under California Vehicle Code Section 12951 VC that is punishable by a $250 maximum court fine (not including additional penalty assessments).
I know of one sheriff’s deputy in AZ that will 100% write you up for showing only a photo or digital copy of a license because like CA, AZ requires you to present the physical card when you get pulled over. And that capped at $250 fine is of course only if you just can’t show it but they are otherwise able to verify that you have a valid DL. If OTOH it’s been suspended or revoked (or you’ve never been issues one), you’re looking at potentially much more serious penalties (including criminal citation with mandatory court appearance etc.).
I prefer to spend my money on nice things, but perhaps you’ll get lucky. Or perhaps you consider $250 a small price to pay for not having to carry a 1/8-oz piece of plastic around. Assuming you ever get pulled over of course. I don’t know where you live, but here in Berkeley, CA I have no idea what it takes for somebody to actually get pulled over these days.
Correct. However…there are so many things that you need an ID for…cash a check, pick up welfare benefits, buy age restricted products, vote in a lot of places, get a library card, etc…that the reality is that pretty much everyone has one. Even illegal immigrants can get a state id in many to most states although I haven’t checked on the exact number that do.
I feel so old fashioned. I always carry my physical driver’s license and typically between $100 and $200 in cash. Power outages and other unforeseen events happen.
Most medical providers require an ID from the state as well as the insurance card. In Ohio, a state ID/drivers license or equivalent ID is required for voting:
https://www.ohiosos.gov/elections/voters/id-requirements/
You don’t need to have one on your person when you go out in public.
But as others have pointed out, lots of things people have to do require an ID of some kind. But if you don’t have a driver’s license (maybe because you don’t drive), many other forms are usually acceptable.
It’s important to clarify that this applies only if an officer stops you when you are behind the wheel of a motor vehicle and asks to see your license. It is not illegal to not present an ID when asked if you are not engaged in, or about to be engaged in, an activity which can be done lawfully only if you have the required license.
Officers may be disgruntled by failure of passengers or pedestrians to provide ID when requested, but you are not breaking any laws by doing so if you’re not driving. You still may be subject to arrest, of course; that’s at officer’s discretion, and if they want to arrest you, they’ll find a pretext. Rectifying that requires at minimum a court hearing.
In case you’re curious about what the bar code on your license contains, there are many bar code readers that can decode PDF417. I downloaded one (Free with in-app subscriptions for advanced features) called QR Reader for iPhone.
It scans my license’s bar-code and lets me export/share the resulting block of text. The text (along with lots of other information about how driver licenses and ID cards are supposed to be designed) is part of the AAMVA (American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators) DL/ID Card Design Standard (2020). Older versions of the standard are no longer linked from the AAMVA web site, but the Wayback machine has links to the standards from 2000 through 2016.
The bar code specification is Annex D, starting on page 46 of the 2020 standard. Section D.12 (starting on page 52) describes the data elements, so you can make sense of the text that is encoded in the bar code.
I found that my license has a few fields not documented in the 2020 standard. I found them last documented in the 2005 standard, and removed from the 2009 standard. Which is interesting because my license was issued in 2018. It obviously takes Virginia (and I assume many other states) quite a long time to integrate newer versions of these standards. Or maybe they only adopt changes when required by law (AAMVA is not a government agency).
Unless you are not a citizen - ie a Green Card Holder / LPR, tourist etc.
I assume the same for Visa holders but I was not one.
Couple of questions about this.
First…what good does it do…I thought I read someplace that the cops could still ask you for the physical license. I guess the bar might accept it if they card you…but if it’s not good enough for the cops I’m not sure it has much utility.
Second…do you have to unlock your phone to show it to the cop…seems really unwise to unlock your phone and hand it to the cop from a privacy standpoint. I suppose ypu could enable the FaceID required for pls…but having to do that for every app is tedious.
In CA the only good it really does right now is at SFO, SJC, and LAX where TSA checkpoints will allow this vs. a physical DL. The irony is the way it’s been implemented, it takes longer than if the TSA officer just swipes your physical DL. There’s also a few stores that will accept it to check for age (lottery tickets, liquor).
If you drive a motor vehicle on a public roadway, the state of CA still always requires a physical DL.
And one note about mDL. The idea is never to hand over your device to anyone. That’s exactly the point. What you do is you tap your phone against a NFC reader and then iOS tells you what information will be transmitted. You double-tap the side button to agree (as you would for Apple Pay) and then FaceID authenticates. Your iPhone then transmits the information you just authorized to the other party wirelessly. You never hand over your phone to anybody. You certainly never unlock your iPhone and then hand it over to somebody. The whole point of mDL is that you release only select pieces of information over the air.
That all said, no cop in CA has been issues a reader/software that would allow for such wireless information transfer and hence they will always require a physical license. If you fail to provide it to them when you get pulled over, you have just violated CVC § 12500 and you can be fined to the tune of $250 or up to $1000 and 6 months in jail (misdemeanor or infraction at prosecutor’s discretion).
Apple explains it here:
https://learn.wallet.apple/id
They also have a nice little video that shows exactly how it works:
https://learn.wallet.apple/api/storage/videos/668848904091a400073be857/en-US-large.mp4
I think the usefulness issue is similar to having pseudo-QR codes for COVID-19 vaccine records a few years ago. The electronic version isn’t useful until the folks who need to read it have appropriate readers. It’s a chicken and egg situation; it’s not worth it for an agency or business to ensure that the folks who need to check IDs have the readers unless enough folks who need to be verified have that form of ID.
I have an Apple Watch. When I have a card in my Apple Wallet, it’s very convenient to double-tap the side button, scroll to the relevant card, and raise my wrist to the reader. It’s one of my primary uses for the watch. I agree that using the Apple Wallet on an iPhone is no more convenient than presenting a physical card (unless you have a messy wallet or purse).
So for another data point, I just added my California DL to Wallet. Kind of a strange process (scan your DL, scan your face while looking up, tilt your head, open your mouth, etc.) After that, it took maybe five minutes for the verification step to complete. And to confirm what @Simon said above, the “image” of your DL in Wallet is nothing more than an odd drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge (looking like it spans some sort of valley instead of open water), with your first name, middle name, and an initial for your last name. Using the mDL (that’s what California calls it) is purely wireless; there would be no point in showing the mDL to anyone for purposes of verifying anything.
[Edit: After posting the above, I did discover that you can tap the circle “i” button displayed by Wallet above the mDL, which shows an info page from which you can tap a “Driver’s License Info” link which (after FaceID verification) does display pretty much all the information on your actual DL.]
The bridge is nothing like the Golden Gate Bridge. It looks like it’s the Bixby Bridge on the Big Sur Coast:
You never actually show the information in your wallet to the person requesting it. Instead, you double-tap the side button near the reader. You’ll see a screen noting the information requested, and then you double-tap again to send it.
Are you saying I don’t know my NorCal bridges? Apparently you’re right! I mean, it’s not even a suspension bridge.
In my defense, I’ve lived my entire life in SoCal, where we have a dearth of photogenic bridges. Beaches, yes; bridges, not so much.
Right. I added the edit not to correct my earlier statement, but to supplement it.
If the driver is validly licensed to drive but does not have the license in possession, the ticket will more likely be for violation of California Vehicle Code section 12951, which is an infraction, punishable by fine. The charge must dismissed if the cited person produces in court a license that was valid at the time of the cited offense. (Assuming the valid license is produced in court, dismissal is required for the first 2 violations, after which dismissal is in the court’s discretion.) Section 12500 applies when the driver is not licensed at all. Section 12500 is a misdemeanor, punishable as you indicated. I think. (A different, more serious, section applies if the person is driving on a suspended license, whether or not the person possesses the license when stopped. See section 14601 and following.)
Here is the photo:
Ah…that makes sense…but until every cop car has the portable reader it’s not a very useful thing…but one more step towards the all electronic future. We ar t residents of CA so no real applicability to us.
The Verge has an interesting article today on why you might NOT want to have only a digital copy of your license–why they say you should NOT hand your phone to the police.
With regard to how digital licenses work, the article is a piece of garbage. The only somewhat accurate point about the interaction with anyone asking for your digital ID is part of the last paragraph:
“There are some minor protections built into Apple and Google’s current systems — you can display an encrypted ID without fully unlocking your phone, and various authorities can scan your ID wirelessly if they have special readers.”
In fact, the only mechanism for using a digital ID is against readers that will wirelessly connect with your device and let your device know what information is wanted. You will then need to consent on your device for that information to be released. At no time will your device leave your person.
So, the ability to use digital ID will depend on whether those who need to check it (law enforcement, TSA, liquor stores and bars (age verification), etc.) will obtain appropriate readers. Acceptance will be slow. Whether it turns out like wireless checking for vaccination records (failure) or contactless payments (success) is undetermined.
I agree that Digital IDs will not replace hard-copy ones for a long time (if never), but not for the reasons stated in the article.
Wow! This was fascinating! Thanks, everybody!
And now, he says, swinging down out of the saddle . . . why on earth would you put all your IDs and finances into one thing that can be lost or damaged?
I cannot understood the burgeoning enthusiasm for concentrated convenience, AKA SPFs (Single Points of Failure). I traveled for decades, not often but enough, and discovered that backup was a very good thing. Always carry your wallet, always have both cash and credit, always have your driver’s license or passport, and now always have your phone. Always. I don’t care if you’re just going to the cute store down the block in Abilene. Maybe that fancy card reader isn’t working? Here’s cash. And just try waving your phone at the stadtpolizei, or the gendarmes or the carabinieri. They may actually have a reader but handing them that laminated license reduces the anxiety big time. And don’t stick your stuff in a car pocket, stick it in your pickpocket-proof pocket.
What’s the big deal with keeping a wallet that’s smaller and lighter than a phone in your pocket? This is grim, but if you’re afraid you’ll lose it, maybe you shouldn’t lose it? It’s a habit of mind you can cultivate with big dividends.
Airline passes. Always print them out and put one in your pocket and one in your suitcase. Just last year, the super-fantastic electronic gizmo at O’Hare wasn’t working—here’s my (paper) pass. Done.
The only times when I don’t carry this incredibly heavy and ungainly load are when I’m exercising: sweats or aikidogi’s don’t have pockets but you can be sure those ID’s are close-by in a locker.
Dave
Whether it’s a phone or a wallet, if you’re going to lose it, you are going to lose it. I don’t think one is easier to lose than the other. At least, if you lose your phone, you can (hopefully) track it and the contents are (hopefully) protected.
The modern technology is fascinating. Apple Pay is lightning-fast and I can also open my car door and start the car with my phone. The convenience of being able to do (almost) everything with just one device is very addicting.
I have misplaced my license way more than my phone or keys. I don’t carry a purse and rarely carry a wallet. Women’s clothing has tiny pockets - it’s one of the reasons I have a Mini.
Diane
And that’s the problem I’m trying to highlight. It is addicting and each new convenience encourages you to forget that you are putting more and more vital information into one place. And a one-place is a Single Point of Failure. So, for example, you use your phone to start your car. You go off for a lovely hike in the woods and don’t realize your phone is trying to connect to far-distant cell towers. 6 hours later, your phone is dead. You come back to the car. You can’t get in. No one else in the parking lot. What’re you going to do?
Tee hee! Every single woman I’ve ever talked to about pockets, whether they’re 20 or 80 says the same thing: “What planet are these designers on!? I need real pockets!” And it’s been so for centuries.
I’m not advocating that everyone wear greatcoats like Harpo Marx (was it in a Night at the Opera?) but I am advocating that old ways can be the best ways when it comes to resilience.
It takes minutes to print out a boarding pass and put it in your coat pocket. It takes seconds to put some cash in your pocket when you head-off to that great-sounding seafood place you’ve never visited 20 miles away that doesn’t take credit cards.
Your phone is not the answer. Sturdy, simple things, easily done, make the phone a convenience rather than a liability.
Dave
I certainly take printed travel documents with me but use my phone primarily as I navigate airports. It’s an essential backup to have the printed version.
But low stakes ventures? Not really, I have cash for the farmers market, about my sole use for it these days. I read recently that a vast majority of transactions in certain countries are now cashless, I think Sweden led with the high 90s in percentages.
Many women, me included, has at times bought mens pants or shorts just for pockets. They don’t fit well but hey they have pockets! I do also have cargo pants/shorts but things like jeans are the pits with front pockets the actual size of a Levi’s watch pocket - can’t even fit a key in there!
You are right, it’s not difficult to grab some cash and I often do. But sometimes I am just running to the hardware store (and I know they take Apple Pay) but drive by a tag sale (where I would never spend anything but cash) and have to continue by because I didn’t grab my cash. I typically bring what I need when I leave the house, it’s just easier to carry and less to loose (or get stolen in this day and age)
I think in the early stages of this thread I mentioned a few local stores that didn’t take Apple Pay that I always forget about because I don’t shop that much. I just found out Hobby Lobby is one. I also discovered that after a year, my local Family Dollar got their phone pay fixed so that’s good.
Diane
I don’t fly but I have gone to a number of concerts with digital tickets. Those I always print out too, but that’s very specific to those events.
Diane
Adam, TSA PreCheck Touches ID is available currently at only FIVE US airports (at least for United flights), two of them in NYC (LaGuardia and Newark). I have NO idea how long it will take for it to become generally available, but conceivably it could make large differences, although I wonder how BT pairing would enter into it.
We returned from European vacations last summer and this, obtaining Global Entry (which includes TSA PreCheck) in the interim. Last year we came in through ORD and joined many hundreds of (often sneezing, coughing and usually maskless) passengers in a snaking line which we navigated for almost 2 hours before reaching a customs and entry kiosk (and yes, I did have fever and a positive Covid Ag test 2 days later). As we waited, a trickle of people approached a few gleaming Global Entry unmonitored terminals and were cleared within a second or two. This summer we were among the privileged few, and the experience coming in through Newark was as different as one could imagine. One just glances at a screen and is waved on (OK, I had to take off my hat). But to OBTAIN Global Entry one has to do an online application and an in-person interview (finding a place to DO the latter is the challenge). During the interview your passport and DL are scanned, you are fingerprinted, and you’re asked non-embarrassing questions. But the SCARY part is that nothing except that glance at a monitor that shows you yourself and recognizes you in an instant is required. Makes it pretty clear that public anonymity while wandering about, if not already gone, will be in the immediate future.
Digital IDs are accepted at only a few airports. For example, in Califonia, they are accepted only in San Francisco (SFO), Mineta San Jose (SJC), and Los Angeles(LAX). Furthermore, mobile driver’s licenses are only accepted for TSA Pre-Check at LAX. So, yes, the ability to use them is currently highly limited.
There is a free alternative to Global Entry that works and has a separate exit control at many airports. It’s called Mobile Passport Control and works through a free mobile app.
Note: While researching this reply, I also discovered that Customs has released a mobile app for Global Entry that allows you to skip the Global Entry terminal before proceeding through the exit.
Unfortunately, you often don’t have a choice these days. My family and I have been to a few concerts in the last few years, and TicketMaster/LiveNation seems to have transitioned to an electronic-only ticketing system. After you buy your ticket, it is only accessible via their mobile app. The venue scans a bar-code from the app, but it’s time-coded, so printouts are useless for admission.
I honestly have no clue what someone must do if they don’t have a smartphone. I think they may not be able to attend these events at all. And yes, I am quite upset by this trend.
The last two times I traveled internationally, I was asked (by the airline) to use it in lieu of the paper customs declaration paperwork. It was quite pointless. You go the kiosk, scan something generated by the app, and get a paper printout of what you entered. Which you hand to the Customs agent just as if you manually filled out the paper form, after waiting on the same line as everybody else.
Maybe it will be useful in the future, but for now, it’s all pointless theater.
That’s awful! I didn’t need an app last time. I hate that.
Diane
It started a few years ago. The excuse was COVID - as if scanning a piece of paper is somehow more likely to spread disease than scanning a phone screen.
But the real reason is that they want to be in control of all ticket transfers. They despise the fact that you could buy tickets for yourself and your friends and then distribute them yourself. To them, that’s scalping. This way, you need to use their app to transfer the tickets, forcing all your friends to create accounts and be subject to tracking.
The fact that this is illegal in many states doesn’t matter. They just don’t care. Once they have your money, including 100% “convenience” charges, you can just go pound sand.
Unfortunately, the only way this is ever going to change is if the performers take a stand and refuse to use companies like Ticketmaster. A few have done this, but most either don’t care or are too small to be able to change anything.
See also:
Your airport must be doing MPC wrong. At SFO using the MPC app means you sail through a short line with the CBP officer basically just checking passports against a facial scan. A couple weeks back when my wife came back from business in Finland, the officer actually just waived her through, didn’t even want to see a passport.
IMHO the MPC app is a total no-brainer. No interviews, no annual fees, no bureaucratic nonsense. You fill out a few questions in the app and the app snaps your pic while you wait to deboard the aircraft and then you just coast through. CBP officers pull up your data through a match via the facial scan they make while you come through, then they sometimes want to also see passports.
You never hand your phone to anybody or print anything, no kiosks either. All you have to do is get into the right line. I my experience they don’t even ask questions, they just nod you along. That’s been it for me. I’ve never used the MPC app and arrived at the belt after my luggage. It’s that fast. At least when I’ve used it at SFO, ORD, and EWR.
Just about every time I opened the app, it said something needed to be updated (the word was something like re-certified). Not surprising though, our DMV doesn’t have the best reputation.
“Oh sorry officer my phone is updating.” Or more likely you’re in line and …
I never tried to use the app for any real situations. I’m a geek so thought to try it out. I deleted it recently.
I also tried it in hope of ditching my wallet eventually. Doubt will happen in my lifetime. Still need physical credit card sometimes or even cash.
I know I show my DL frequently. Medical appointments may be the most common. Used to be check cashing, but that may have been decades ago. Oh, yes and car rentals.
As someone said they aren’t all going to get readers that can deal with all fifty states any time soon. And the cost for the police might not be high relatively, but look at how much stuff they already carry. Maybe it can be built into their body cams.