A mobile driving licence (also mobile driver's license or mDL) is a

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

that replaces a physical

driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

. An

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Ar ...

(ISO) standard for the mobile driving licence (ISO 18013-5) was approved on August 18, 2021 and published on 30 September 2021.

History

The first instance of an electronic driver's license was deployed in Mexico as early as 2007, using the

Gemalto Gemalto was an international digital security company providing software applications, secure personal devices such as smart cards and tokens, and managed services. It was formed in June 2006 by the merger of two companies, Axalto and Gemplus In ...

smart-card platform. In 2016, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (

NIST The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical sci ...

) partnered with Gemalto to pilot the "digital driver's license" in

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. Colorado was the first state to deploy a production version of a digital license, primarily based on

QR codes A QR code (an initialism for quick response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that can contain information about the ...

stored in a

digital wallet A digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet, is an electronic device, online service, or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party bartering digital currency units for goods and services. This can ...

, which it claims is accepted by police officers throughout the state. After going through the standard process at the state Department of Motor Vehicles, volunteers installed the "DigiDL" app on their phones and then downloaded the license. Volunteers tested the digital driver's license in stores, the

Colorado Lottery The Colorado Lottery is run by the state government of Colorado. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association(MUSL). The Colorado Lottery began on January 24, 1983, initially selling only scratch tickets. Its first drawing took place on ...

claim center, and an art fair. The first mDL that claims compliance with ISO 18013-5 is

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

's, developed in part by Envoc, a software firm in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, whose president claimed that most drivers under 40 won't go back home if they forget their physical laminated license, "but if they forget their phone, they always turn around."

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, announced a "Digital Identity Program," including a mobile driver's license. Denmark in 2020 introduced a mobile driver's license which uses a QR code. According to the standard, the holder's privacy is protected since they do need to hand over their phone to provide proof of identity.

Operating system support

Smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

operating systems An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also inc ...

are adapting to the new standard. For example, Android's JetPack suite comes with specific support for ISO 18013–5 from version API 24. On September 1, 2021,

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

provided details about its implementation of the standard in iOS 15.

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

became the first two states to announce that IDs were supported. On March 23, 2022, Arizona officially launched their program which includes the first TSA checkpoint to support Apple’s mobile driver’s license, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

Conformance and testing

Safety organization UL has a product to help test an app's conformance with the ISO 18013-5 standard. The

Kantara Initiative Kantara Initiative, Inc. is a non-profit trade association that works to develop standards for identity and personal data management. It focuses on improving trustworthy use of identity and personal data in the area of digital identity managemen ...

created a "Privacy & Identity Protection in Mobile Driving License Ecosystems Discussion Group" to issue a report on the need for conformance specifications around identity and privacy.

References

External links

Status page from Thales
- frequently updated
Kantara/IDESG wiki
- collection of privacy and notice issues {{DEFAULTSORT:ISO IEC 18013 Driving licences

Driver's license A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public ...

Identity management