Mobile license pilot study to allow police to 'ping' cellphone for a license

Delaware could be among the first states to use mobile driver's licenses.

The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles has launched a mobile driver's license pilot study that will run for six months, according to a release from the Delaware Department of Transportation.

The six-month pilot study will include about 200 state employees and stakeholders.

“Delaware is among the first states to test a mobile driver’s license, and we’re excited to help move this new technology forward,” said Gov. John Carney said in the release. 

Transportation Secretary Jennifer Cohan believes the pilot will help the state how mobile driver's licenses work in real-world scenarios.

"[They will] address any issues that arise as a result before we decide to fully adopt and implement this application for our more than 800,000 licensed drivers and ID card holders,” she said in the release.

The pilot is being run by both the Delaware DMV and IDEMIA, the company that produces the state’s physical driver's licenses and identification cards, according to the release.

Features of the mDL that will be tested include:

• Enhanced privacy for age verification: No need to show a person’s address, license number and birthdate. The mobile driver's license will verify if the person is over 18 or 21 and display a photo.

• Law enforcement use during a traffic stop: The mobile driver's license will allow law enforcement officers to ping a driver’s smartphone to request their driver’s license information before walking to the vehicle.

• Business acceptance: Understanding how businesses that require identification or age verification interact with the mobile driver's license will be advantageous throughout the pilot study.

• Ease of Use: Ensuring the mobile driver's license is able to be presented to any organization without difficulty.

• Secure access: The mobile driver's license is unlocked and accessible only by the license holder. The mobile driver's license is accessed through an app on the owner’s smartphone and is opened/unlocked by entering a user-created PIN or facial recognition.

“It is our responsibility to always bring the best-in-class offerings to our state and an mDL holds the promise of offering an always-updated, secure credential that will be easy to use by our consumers, businesses and law enforcement,” Vien said in the release.

DelDOT Director of Community Relations C.R. McLeod said that IDEMIA has created an encrypted app that would keep the mobile driver license secure. The app would only be accessible through a pin number or facial recognition, he said.

"The physical driver license is not going away," McLeod said. "For individuals who do not have a smartphone or choose not to utilize this application, they will continue using their physical driver license and identification card as they always have. Everyone will continue to be issued physical driver’s licenses."

McLeod said that being able to share a mobile driver license that allows an individual to share the information they choose and not their entire license when buying alcohol, renting a car, checking in to a hotel, going through security at the airport – places an individual would routinely be asked for an ID – is the primary focus of the pilot.

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. follow him on Twitter at @JerrySmithTNJ.

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