Delaware is looking to allow motorists to use and present digital driver’s licenses. On Thursday, December 29, the Delaware state House of Representatives authorized their Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to start the exploration and implementation process of virtual driver’s licenses.

Delaware is not the only state in the U.S. to start considering this route. Late last year, Iowa announced their pilot program to launch digital licenses to motorists and they were set to be the first state in the U.S. to offer the new technology. However, it now looks like Delaware, which has a much smaller population, may claim the achievement.

Both Delaware and Iowa, along with 40 other U.S. states, share the same driver’s license vendor, MorphoTrust USA. The vendor has been working on the smartphone app that will allow digital versions of driver’s licenses for the past two years.

MorphoTrust vice president Jenny Openshaw stated in an interview earlier this month, “We anticipated this shift a couple of years ago, and are pleased that this process has reached a stage today where we are talking with many of the 42 states that we supply with physical licenses about piloting the concept. Of course Iowa is the state that is furthest down that road.”

Whether it is Delaware or Iowa who wins the race to digital driver’s licenses, motorists would still receive a hard copy of their driver’s license and would then have the option of downloading the app.

Both states are working frantically to make digital driver’s licenses a reality for motorists; however, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the concept of digital licenses, with one of the biggest concerns being security. Openshaw said that they are working on various security features, some that will be visible to the naked eye, and some hidden. MorphoTrust and the state partners are also considering biometrics, like “fingerprint, iris or facial recognition technologies,” in order to add an extra layer of security.

It’s unclear how the system would work for people with a digital driver’s license travelling to states where the technology is not supported.

photo: Barbara J. Perenic