Iowa state officials have recently announced that resident’s should be able to start downloading their driver’s licenses via their smartphones by late next year.
According to a report made by The Des Moines Register, the Iowa Department of Transportation administered a pilot program that required over 100 state employees to use state-issued iPhones last year. After a successful test period, officials decided to expand the digital driver’s license program statewide within 12 to 18 months.
“We definitely need to be able to accept this as proof of identity and driving privilege where necessary,” said Mark Lowe, director of the department. “Our law enforcement should be able to interact with it, and we should be able to use it to rent a car, get a hotel room, buy cigarettes, buy alcohol — things where you are typically expected to provide some proof of identity.”
Iowa was one of the first states to consider the idea of replacing traditional plastic ID cards with digital copies of driver’s licenses. Since then, around nine other states have deliberated upon making the same switch.
The pilot program was conducted in partnership with MorphoTrust USA, a contractor that provides identity-related products and services.
“I think that the digital driver’s license doesn’t so much solve a problem as it fulfills a need and a desire on the part of the American consumer to have everything that is important to us in electronic form and on the mobile device of our choice,” said Jenny Openshaw, Vice President of State & Local Sales of MorphoTrust. “People are more likely to leave their wallet at home these days than their cellphone.”
The test group in Iowa used a downloadable iOS mobile app that required identity verification before the digital driver’s license was rendered on the phone. According to MorphoTrust officials, the app and verification process meet the highest standards for security and protection of personal information.
Lowe explained that the agency worked alongside Garter Inc., a private technology consultant, to write up an official contract for a fully functional mobile driver’s license the public can use.
Iowa’s plans have also caught the attention of foreign countries including Australia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Canada and Switzerland, according to Lowe. These countries have engaged in discourse over the possibilities of digital passports for avid travelers.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa has raised some questions about how having mobile driver’s licenses will affect privacy rights, according to the organization’s legal director, Rita Bettis. Residents need to be sure that they will remain free from unsolicited searches and seizures of their smartphones during routine traffic stops, explained Bettis.
MotorTrust answers back by reassuring the safety of their product, which is embedded with invisible security features that are linked and dynamically rendered when the driver license is presented. The company also claims that having a mobile driver’s license will help reduce trips to the motor vehicle agency for tasks like updating your address or becoming an organ donor.