iPhone users located in Montana can now add their driver's licenses and IDs to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, allowing an on-device digital ID to be used instead of a physical ID.
The Montana Motor Vehicle Division launched Montana Mobile IDs today. The mobile IDs are able to be used for identity verification online, in-app, and in-person. Participating businesses can use Montana mobile IDs to verify the age of a user for an age-restricted purchase without the need for additional information like name, address, and birth date.
"We have spent the last three years modernizing MVD and improving operating efficiencies and customer service," MVD Administrator Laurie Bakri said. "Now that we have overhauled the basics, we are excited to embark on an era of innovation, starting with Montana Mobile IDs and the Montana Mobile ID Verifier for Android and iOS mobile devices."
Montana residents can add a license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app by opening it, tapping on the "+" button, and following the onscreen instructions.
According to the Montana Motor Vehicle Division, mobile IDs can be used at businesses and organizations that have opted to participate. The IDs are accepted at MVD exam stations with a check-in kiosk, and the TSA has confirmed that mobile IDs can be used at more than 250 TSA airports across the United States. By the end of this year, the Montana Highway Patrol should have the ability to verify mobile IDs.
Montana has launched a Montana Mobile ID Verifier app for businesses, making it simple for businesses to accept mobile IDs in the state.
Digital IDs on the iPhone and Apple Watch are not accepted everywhere, and Montana officials say that users should always carry a physical license as well.
Apple announced a new Wallet app that supported digital IDs back in 2022, but states have been slow to adopt the feature. Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, Iowa, California, Hawaii, and Ohio have implemented support, as has Puerto Rico. Apple has said that Mississippi, Illinois, Connecticut, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia are working on support.
Top Rated Comments
No, this feature doesn't have you hand your phone over to anyone. You scan your phone on a reader with this feature. It's like Apple Pay. You ever use Apple Pay? You don't hand your phone over to the cashier with Apple Pay. You scan it. It never leaves your hand. This is no different. It stays in your hand, you tap your phone, badda bing badda boom, stuff happens.
Police departments don't actually accept the Apple Wallet ID feature. They all require you to have the plastic. The TSA accepts it, at certain airports, in certain states, and sometimes in certain TSA lanes. You are still required to have the plastic for TSA, just in case there's a reader problem, or by the discretion of the agent they can ask you for the plastic.
As others have noted above: you have to start somewhere.