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The world is evolving rapidly towards mobile and digital formats for many everyday tasks.
Key drivers for this trend are convenience and ease of use for transactions that require some form of identification. And one of the most used documents to confirm identity is looking at going down this route - the driver's license .
The primary goals of the driving license, whether physical or digital, remain to confirm identity and to confer the right to drive a vehicle.During the course of the last two years, studies and pilots have been launched in several states in the US to explore the technical feasibility of a digital driver's license.
There, digital driver's licenses also named mobile driver's licenses are set to retain the key visual aspects of a physical driver's license, displaying the driver's personal information - name, address and date of birth, along with his photo.
Various technologies are considered to address but security and user friendliness will be key drivers.
There's more.
The topic is now receiving even more federal attention.
In August 2016, the U.S. Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded a grant to further support the development of trusted identities based on Digital Driver's License provided by states.
Through a $2M grant awarded to Gemalto, four jurisdictions – Idaho, Colorado, Maryland and Washington D.C. – are implementing a pilot for a secure Digital Driver's License (DDL), which many believe to be the future of trusted identities. In 2017, Wyoming decided to join the pilot.
Discover in detail and pictures the July 2017 DDL pilot in Colorado.
There are striking similarities in challenges and potential benefits with what is called a "national eID scheme" in many other countries where states are including digital identity as a defining feature in a digital space of trust, with good levels of security, interoperability and data protection.
See our January 2016 white paper on national identity schemes to learn more on this topic.
Digital driver licenseConvenience of the mobile format – potential new identification use cases
Beyond the important security aspects, issuing authorities have shown particular interest in the universal convenience of this mobile format:
Convenience for holders, who can travel lighter with a digital driver's license, instantly updatable, on their phone.
Convenience for law enforcement or other parties wanting to verify identity and privileges.
Convenience for issuing authorities who can explore new services needing such a trusted and secure channel for sharing and validating identity.
The driver's license has been a standard for decades, acting not just as proof that you can drive but as an ID to verify age and identity, opening mobile driver's license to many usages such as:
Police control: roadside stops to identify the driver of a vehicle and his/her privileges.
Proof of age: where purchase of alcohol, as in many countries, is restricted to people aged 18 or more, verified by the retailer.
Car rental: to identify the renter, ensure driving privileges and share attributes (address…etc )
Identity validation or confirmation for hotel check-in, financial institutions, social services...
Online authentication: from access control to identity verification…
When could you use a DDL?
Digital driver's license - The 2016-2017 US landscape
Iowa was the first state decide to test digital driver's license in 2014. It started a pilot on an IOS platform with 100 state employees at the end of 2015. The goal was to test the daily usability of the solution. The Department of Transportation hopes to make the app public in 2017.
Several legislatures (legislative body of States in the United States) authorize the study of smartphone driver's license app such as Arizona, Illinois, Utah and Texas to name a few.
Some other states have legislation under consideration. Idaho, Colorado, Maryland and Washington D.C are now on their way to set up a pilot funded by a federal grant.
In Tennessee, legislation (HB556) enacted in May 20, 2015 authorizes the State DMV to develop a secure "electronic driver license system" and to display electronic images on a cellular phone or any other portable electronic device.
In Arizona the Senate Bill 1237 bill was passed and signed on May 11, 2016. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) has to study and specify what may be done with an electronic driver license.
In Utah, Bill 227 effective in May 2016 requires the Driver License Division and Department of Technology Services to study and report findings and recommendations regarding electronic driver licenses.
In Louisiana, Bill 481 was signed by Governor Edwards on June 23, 2016. The law outlines requirements for a digitized driver's license. It allows persons to use the digitized license in lieu of a physical license when stopped by law enforcement. The proposed law provides that display of the digital driver's license shall not serve as consent to search the mobile device. A fee of up to $6 can be charged for use of the drivers license app.
Kentucky was considering the topic as well but the feasibly study has not been launched as the measure did not receive a hearing.
In California, the state legislature passed a bill (February – September 2015) to study the feasibility of a digital mobile driver's license app for smart phone. It was however vetoed by Governor of California Jerry Brown in October 2015.
In New Jersey, the bill introduced in January 2016 has been withdrawn from consideration in February 2016.
In Illinois, the Legislature approved a resolution in 2015 that created an Electronic Driver's License Task Force to study the feasibility of a digital/mobile DL. The Task Force reported its finding on April 21, 2016. It recommended that the Secretary of State continue to monitor advancements in mobile driver's license technology.
In March 2015, North Dakota passed HCR 3036, a bill to study implications of driver's licenses for smart phones. However, the measure has not been considered as of October 2016 by Legislative Management.
In August 2016, through a $2M grant awarded to Gemalto, Idaho, Colorado, Maryland and Washington D.C. are to set a pilot for a secure Digital Driver's License (DDL). Its goals are to define and create a convenient and secure way for citizens and authenticating parties to exchange and verify government-issued credential information via smartphone.
In 2017 Wyoming joined this initiative.
On March 21 2017, in Arkansas, the Senate Bill 428 was signed into law and is allowing the Office of Driver Services to issue a digital copy of an Arkansas driver’s license for a $10 fee.
In July 2017, Colorado and Maryland started a live pilot. Follow the progress of the DDL pilot on our dedicated pages. September 2017 was dedicated to full pilot analysis, conclusion, lessons learned, best practices. Stay tuned for the December 2017 phase of the pilots.
The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators Working Group is looking at DDL standards and their specifications.
The legal environment is also positively impacted by the famous Riley v. California case of September 2014. The United States Supreme Court ruled that Police may not, without a warrant, search digital information on a mobile phone seized from an individual during an arrest.
This makes it easier for states to implement DDL solutions since the court is clear: police cannot arbitrarily search phones.
Other initiatives around the world
In Australia, New South Wales announced in November 2015 the introduction for 2016 of digital driving licenses on smartphones and in February 2016 the press revealed that Victoria is also analyzing technology to produce a digital driver's license app in the next few months. Western Australia State announced a plan to turn driver's licenses into digital IDs in April 2016.
New South Wales' Premier Mike Baird promised to introduce the digital license within four years. However a lot of co-operation will be needed to set up a working multi-jurisdictional approach in the country.
In November 2016, NSW's Minister for Finance, Services and Property Dominic Perrottet said that digital driver licences will be introduced by 2019. A pilot in Dubbo started in November 2017.
In October 2016, senior officials at the Dutch road transport authority have made it clear that the country is working on a mobile app version of the license that would accompany a card.
In May 2016, Britain's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) revealed it was also working on a digital driving licence for smart phones and showed a "prototype" of a feature that would let people store their license in their phone and turn driver's iPhone into an ID. According to the Daily Mail of March 31, 2017, the Agency will test the system this September and plan a roll out for spring 2018. The existing UK driving licence will still be available.
In July 2017, CONTRAN, the Brazilian National Traffic Board, approved a proposition for a digital driver's license to be launched in 2018.
In Other countries like India are investigating this option.
DDL standards at early stage
As of today, the market is at an early stage and standards are not fully defined. In 2016, the ISO SC17 WG10 - Task Force 14 "Mobile Driving Licence" started to work on verification standards for Mobile DL and defined the scope of off-line verification.
2017 will see draft specs of both off-line and on-line verification appear for a new work item.
Mobile driver license
4 key requirements
Mobile driver's license needs to address 4 key requirements in order to gain acceptance as a trusted digital identity.
It needs to be :
accessible in both online and offline modes,
highly secure to protect the confidentiality and privacy of user data,
interoperable between different issuing and verifying authorities,
able to manage the integrity of data throughout its life cycle - from enrolment to the in-field verification process.
For the time being, mobile driving licenses will not replace physical driver's licenses but will exist as a secondary form of ID to complement to these physical driver's licenses.
How would you get a DDL on your phone?
Technologies and implementation models from Gemalto
In September 2015, Gemalto conducted an extensive study with a consumer on-line community gathering 200 members from the United Kingdom and United States. The direct feedback from potential users of the digital driver's license solution revealed the benefits, concerns and the diversity of audiences. These results allowed the company to set up relevant implementation models.
Gemalto Mobile DL solutions bring technology and implementation models which take into account user-friendliness, the local DL schemes and practices (drivers, Police, service providers…), and provide the highest level of security in both credential storage, data transmission and verification.
What's the story here?
Not only does a digital credential bring new layers of security, such as PIN or fingerprint verification, but it is also much more difficult to fraudulently duplicate or alter.
Why?
Because it is checked with the issuer backend in real-time, a fraudulent credential can quickly and easily be identified as invalid, to make verifying even out-of-state digital credentials significantly simpler and more secure.
If a user's mobile device is ever lost or stolen, the digital license can be remotely deactivated or wiped almost instantly.
Secure DDL
Unlike a traditional driver's license card, a mobile driver's license never needs to leave the owner's hands. A person verifying the driving license in the field will have access to advanced real-time authentication through another version of the application on an authentication device – either another smart-phone or a reader.
No footprint is left on the verification device and no geo-location tagging or tracking of user information occurs.
With a digital driver's license, an issuer can have much greater control over in-use credentials compared to a traditional physical license - for example alerting holders when their license is about to expire. Citizens could also update their personal information or even renew their license directly through the application instead of visiting a branch office, saving time and resources.
Control and convenience will prove essential elements for issuers and users on the road to mobile driver's licenses.
This form of digital credential could enable a new, more efficient and more secure way of authenticating a person and their entitlement for a range of personal identification usages.
