Florida Looks to Expand Mobile ID Program
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is preparing to move forward with the official launch of its mobile driver’s license program. The state released its Florida Smart ID app in November, though the program is still in a trial phase and the virtual IDs are not yet widely recognized throughout the state.
In that regard, authorities have indicated that there are some logistical hurdles that will need to be overcome to realize the full potential of mobile IDs. Most notably, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has not yet approved the use of mobile IDs, so anyone wishing to purchase alcohol in Florida will still need to present a physical document for proof of age.
Assuming that digital driver’s licenses eventually do get recognized, shopkeepers will still need to have a Smart ID verification app on their own devices in order to scan the virtual documents. With the Florida app, users will need to complete either a face or fingerprint recognition scan on their phones whenever they want to submit their ID for proof of age (or proof of identity). The app will then generate a barcode that the requesting party will need to scan to verify the document’s authenticity.
Florida is hoping to clear those remaining obstacles and launch mobile IDs before the end of the year. The Smart ID app is already available through the App Store (and will be supported on Android devices), and Apple is also working with Florida to let people store their mobile driver’s licenses in the Apple Wallet. At the moment, Florida residents can store boarding passes, credit and debit cards, and event tickets on their Apple devices.
If all goes well, Florida could eventually try to digitize other aspects of its infrastructure. For example, state politicians are currently pushing a pair of bills that would create digital license plates for consumer vehicles. The digital plates could be available to drivers as of July 1, 2023, though drivers would still need to buy a physical plate when registering their vehicle.
The police and the TSA are some of the other agencies that are expected to accept Florida’s new digital IDs. Arizona, Oklahoma, and Delaware have already launched their own mobile driver’s license, though all three states did so while working with IDEMIA instead of Apple.