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Apple Wallet Driver's License Feature to Launch in Four More US States (macrumors.com) 67

Apple Wallet's driver's license and state ID feature is set to expand to North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia, bringing the total to 18 states plus Puerto Rico. The digital IDs can be used at participating TSA checkpoints and businesses without handing over or unlocking an iPhone, though users are still generally advised to carry a physical ID because acceptance remains limited. MacRumors reports: A few days ago, North Carolina's DMV announced that it plans to launch a mobile ID program later this year. As reported by WRAL, North Carolina residents will be able to set up a digital ID through a new NC Wallet app starting in December, with Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, and Samsung Wallet support to follow in "early 2027." As mentioned, you do not need to unlock, show, or hand over your device to present an Apple Wallet ID in person, ensuring user privacy.

Apple Wallet IDs are generally not accepted by law enforcement, so carrying a physical ID is still legally required for traffic stops. In addition, the number of businesses that accept Apple Wallet IDs is still quite small. At least for now, Apple Wallet IDs are designed to be a convenient alternative where they are accepted. "Your mobile ID is a valid form of identification in North Carolina," the DMV said, in a FAQ on its website. "However, as retailers, restaurants and other businesses transition to mobile IDs, some may not be set up to accept them right away. For now, carrying your physical card gives you a backup when needed." According to code seen by MacRumors, Apple Wallet IDs are also coming to Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia, but there is no timeframe for availability.

Apple Wallet Driver's License Feature to Launch in Four More US States

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  • by Locke2005 ( 849178 ) on Monday August 17, 2026 @06:14PM (#66293708)
    will my otder bro's iPhone get me into a strip club now?
    • by Anonymous Coward

      So would you say that a lap dance is a useful delusion?

      • Every stripper's business model is built on lies and deception... they would do very well in most company's marketing departments!
        • They can skip the middleman and do the prostitution themselves

          • What's the difference between a marketing manager and a prositute? There are some things a prostitute won't do for any amount of money! (My manager at Oracle pulled down his $40,000 quarterly bonus by billing a customer for work that wasn't done, then after the project was billed halfway down and late, brought me in to clean up the mess and take the blame for the failure or a project I had just been assigned to and finished within a week.)
    • Re:Sure, but... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by test321 ( 8891681 ) on Monday August 17, 2026 @07:46PM (#66293866)

      Same as with your older bro's paper card. If you look similar on the picture, you might try. However, while I can imagine your older friend lending you a paper card he does not really need for an evening, I am not sure same friend will lend you a mobile phone he is going to miss even if only for the time you visit the club, plus letting you the possibility to play pranks like posting stupid things online or to his contacts in a dating service.

    • Another question is whether it works and in what countries to support international driving permits.
    • by zlives ( 2009072 )

      from my understanding you scan a drivers license into the wallet why not just photoshop and then scan?

  • Use it or lose it! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jenningsthecat ( 1525947 ) on Monday August 17, 2026 @06:33PM (#66293742)

    The more we use these "convenient" tech methods to pay for things and to identify ourselves, the sooner the traditional paper / plastic methods will become obsolete and no longer accepted. Then the tech broligarchs will fully control our IDs, our money, and - perhaps biggest of all - our privacy.

    The ubiquitous surveillance that our always-on phones make possible will also make planning a revolution effectively impossible. Every time we give in to these conveniences, we come one step closer to a dystopian society such as that shown in "Elysium" and many other films. The tech bros already have far too much control over us - it's time to put a stop to it. Just say no to being monitored, nannied, and amused - AKA abused - to death.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Powercntrl ( 458442 )

      In Florida the (Republican) governor made a big deal about how we're never going to have "digital" driver's licenses. Problem is, they already are digital. If you get pulled over by a cop, they run it though the DMV database and the results from that database take precedence over anything that might be printed on your little plastic card.

      Sure, having a physical card you can hold could give you the warm fuzzies, but ultimately it's still those bits in a database that say whether or not you actually have dr

      • You are twisting the OP's statements. The core problem of all of this is it is going down the path of forcing you to have a smart phone if you don't want one for basic needs. While it is convenient for some of these needs, it is also used as a side vehicle for monopolizing your attention and data. You become a product to be sold... A piece of plastic does not do that.

        Some examples of this path.

        • In Japan, we have had health insurance cards merged into what is equivalent to a the social security card in t
        • But for those of us who don't want it, it is like people like you are smothering shit in our faces and asking why we don't like it.

          This sounds like the Greek moutza [wikipedia.org].

        • The core problem of all of this is it is going down the path of forcing you to have a smart phone if you don't want one for basic needs.

          We already went down this rabbit hole when we started designing cities under the assumption that you will have an automobile. Thing is, cars have just been around a lot longer than smartphones, so few people question why we just go along with something that costs a lot of money to buy, maintain and insure, requires a revokable privilege from the government to operate, and is easily trackable via a rather ubiquitous network of cameras.

          The idea that ownership of a smartphone, which costs no more than similar

    • There was an interesting video - possibly staged - by a woman asking an ai how Satan would appear today. Convenience was certainly an aspect of the response.
    • The more we use these "convenient" tech methods to pay for things and to identify ourselves, the sooner the traditional paper / plastic methods will become obsolete and no longer accepted. Then the tech broligarchs will fully control our IDs, our money, and - perhaps biggest of all - our privacy.

      If you keep your money in a bank, that ship has already sailed and left you behind. The Social Security Death Master File [thisamericanlife.org]: "If you get accidentally added to it when you are not dead, it can mess up your Social Security payments, sure, but also your bank accounts, all kinds of things. ... DHS wants the SSA to kill off 2.7 million people, like an entire city, mark them all as dead in the Death Master File. Again, like last time, no sign or pretense that they're for real dead. DHS tells Jeremiah's team that t

  • This will have a huge impact on the voter ID debate. By further connecting government identification systems with transaction processing systems like credit card companies, both of which Apple has their hands in, it will become just a database join on anyone with a credit card, to figure out who is and who is not a citizen.
    • by taustin ( 171655 )

      Are you saying that's a good thing or a bad thing?

      Cuz people will argue both ways on that.

  • by Anonymous Coward

    Who wants to pay a thousand dollars to replace a lost/stolen drivers license?

    This only make the damn phone even more valuable to thieves. That's a very expensive wallet, and fragile. Will you still have ID without internet?

    • Who wants to pay a thousand dollars to replace a lost/stolen drivers license?

      This only make the damn phone even more valuable to thieves. That's a very expensive wallet, and fragile. Will you still have ID without internet?

      You still have a physical driver's license. It's now optional to carry it if you have your phone. Men usually don't care because we have good pockets, most womens' clothes don't so my wife wants this. I view it like Apple Pay or even Venmo. I want the option, but I have yet to use it.

      Regarding thieves? How does this increase the value? How are they going to pass Face ID?

      Very simply, this is either useful to you or not. Some hate carrying a wallet. I don't mind. Presumably you and (and most m

      • by shilly ( 142940 )

        I’m curious why you’ve never used Apple Pay? I basically haven’t bothered with a physical wallet in years, living in the UK, I’ve just not needed to as Apple Pay is accepted everywhere. Also true in most places abroad from Norway to Saudi Arabia to Colombia (except in the US, natch, where i once had to run back to my hotel to get a physical card to pay at a big pizza chain restaurant in Chicago that supposedly took Apple Pay but wasn’t able to complete the transaction).

        • I’m curious why you’ve never used Apple Pay? I basically haven’t bothered with a physical wallet in years, living in the UK, I’ve just not needed to as Apple Pay is accepted everywhere. Also true in most places abroad from Norway to Saudi Arabia to Colombia (except in the US, natch, where i once had to run back to my hotel to get a physical card to pay at a big pizza chain restaurant in Chicago that supposedly took Apple Pay but wasn’t able to complete the transaction).

          The US was an early adopter of this technology, hence why we're far behind. In my case, I don't think my local grocery chain takes them and my local retail chain (Target) gives me a 5% discount if I use their credit card, which I can link to their app. I guess I never saw what's in it for me. If I go shopping, I usually take my car and need my wallet for my license (I'm not in a state with digital ID). I remember something similar in that fax machines are really common in Japan...because businesses mast

      • You still have a physical driver's license. It's now optional to carry it if you have your phone.

        Except it isn't. As the summary says, "Apple Wallet IDs are generally not accepted by law enforcement, so carrying a physical ID is still legally required for traffic stops." Optional for the (currently) small number of businesses that will accept it, yes.

    • So you are thinking that the original license is somehow destroyed when they make a digital twin on their phone's wallet?

      Plus, it makes your phone exactly as valuable to thieves as it was before, because if they are sophisticated enough to break the locks, they have your online banking and credit cards. But how many phone thieves can crack AES?

      No, they steal the phone to sell the phone or it's parts. Literally nobody is saying "I wasn't interested in phone theft before, but now that someone's driver licen

  • by Valgrus Thunderaxe ( 8769977 ) on Monday August 17, 2026 @06:41PM (#66293760)
    I'm not giving Apple my driver's license and I'm **NOT** handing any cop my phone.
    • Sure you will. Eventually it will be mandatory. Because then you have to hand the police you're unlocked phone and that's the end of that.

      And your neighbors who are really really concerned about ethics and games journalism or something are going to make you do it and you're not going to have a choice because we all have to drive.

      Eventually they'll be a supreme Court case however we have six utterly and completely corrupt judges so good luck with that.
      • by 93 Escort Wagon ( 326346 ) on Monday August 17, 2026 @07:14PM (#66293814)

        Sure you will. Eventually it will be mandatory. Because then you have to hand the police you're unlocked phone and that's the end of that.

        That's not actually how it works - you don't have to unlock your phone, and you don't hand the device over to the cop.

        • Well then you go to jail for resisting arrest.

          It's works however the guy with a gun wants it to work. We gave up our civil rights ages ago.
      • It just raises the cost. I'll get a separate phone for the car that holds only my ID plus numerous videos of the 4th Amendment recited by furry cops in helium voices.

        I already limit what is on/available from my "walking around" phone. Now we're just specializing for particular audiences.

        Your car phone will have no need of a SIM, at least, so an old one will do.

        • It just raises the cost........Now we're just specializing for particular audiences.

          Ideally you could combine your traffic stop phone and your border crossing phone into one.

          • by ls671 ( 1122017 )

            My cell phone is pretty much blank since I barely use it for anything but phone calls. People don't even text me since they don't have the number and the ones who do know that I don't check it regularly and that it's often completely off. I have a ring group on my PBX which rings my cell phone as well.

            Try with such a phone at a border crossing to see how much suspicion you will raise! They then go into more detailed questioning and verifications etc. I now have to put *some* stuff on it not to raise suspici

      • The god damn summary explicitly states in the second sentence:

        The digital IDs can be used at participating TSA checkpoints and businesses without handing over or unlocking an iPhone

        /

        It goes on further to state:

        Apple Wallet IDs are generally not accepted by law enforcement, so carrying a physical ID is still legally required for traffic stops.

        So either you couldn't be bothered to read the second sentence and beyond, or you are intentionally arguing a straw man. Not a good look.

    • Hand over your identiphone. It's the law, citizen; you will submit to scanning.

    • by Ksevio ( 865461 )

      We'll just add that to the list of other things you'll never do - like reading the second sentence of the summary

    • I'm not giving Apple my driver's license and I'm **NOT** handing any cop my phone.

      Of course, because you can't. Apple doesn't get your driver's license, and the system does not require you to hand over you cop your phone any more than you hand over your phone to a store clerk to make a payment.

      So I guess you're on board with it now?

  • I get the privacy objections, but it also looks like the process to get it set up is cumbersome and annoying, and it's only accepted in a few places, so you have to carry your plastic license anyway. So what's the point?

    • With proper controls, it could be a massive privacy boon. The thing with that physical card is that it has a bunch of information on it that has literally nothing to all whatsoever to its supposed purpose, but can be massive safety and privacy issues. The biggest offender of all, of course, being your address... most likely your residential address.

      That bouncer at the club or the bar? He doesn't need to know your address... and should NOT know it. He doesn't need to know if you wear glasses or have a mo

      • I like your perspective overall, but you're fundamentally wrong about the use of a driver's license during a traffic stop -- it's used to identify you, so they can also run you for warrants. It's not just about whether or not you're currently licensed to drive.
      • It probably also needs at least your facial image for confirmation that it's your license/phone. Or a facial recognition feature?
        • FaceID already does that... better than the sort of person who can only get those jobs in the first place.

      • Yep. I 100% agree with this.

        I *hate* the fact that places have started scanning the bar code data on my drivers license just to get DoB.

        They *say* that they only need it for age verification, but that scan is slurping way more information than just the DoB.

        I would much rather have my DL in a secure digital wallet where it cannot be lost or stolen and can be masked to only provide the needed information.

  • And I'm pretty damn white. There is no way in hell I am going to risk having a cop pull up on me and I don't have my driver's license and registration and proof of insurance ready to go. And I sure as hell do not want to reach for an electronic device in my income bracket driving what I drive with the trigger happy lunatics that pass for police officers in my neck of the woods.
  • WTF? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SlashbotAgent ( 6477336 ) on Monday August 17, 2026 @07:27PM (#66293834)

    Apple Wallet IDs are generally not accepted by law enforcement, so carrying a physical ID is still legally required for traffic stops.

    Well then what is the fucking point of all this? And, why are these states spending money on these apps that aren't valid for the IDs primary purpose?

    It is a driver's license. If I can't use the Apple wallet version of my driver's license, then it is not fit for purpose. Although, it will come in very very handy for the privacy invading age verification and KYC online bullshit.

    • by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      Yea it's stupid. My state rolled them out and I checked since leaving home without my wallet (say working in the yard and want to the store for something) would be my only real use for it, and police can but are not required to accept it in my state. Makes it pretty pointless. Apparently TSA will take it but a) I don't fly a lot, b) I have a passport card I also keep in my wallet so I never bothered to jump through all the real-ID hoops with the DMV, and c) I'm not likely to go to the airport without my wal
    • Well then what is the fucking point of all this?=

      A primary use, today, is at the airport, as TSA will accept (or at least try to accept) the digital ID QR code, and that can make moving through the lines a bit faster for everyone. If you have never flown, nor mind longer lines, this is would be uninteresting to you.

      Some states also add in various age verification QR codes, that, maybe, eventually, mean that retailers and bars can use those to verify you are sufficient old to buy that beer, and equip police (and other agent staff) with readers that can ju

      • My actual ID has a bar code on it as well. Why would it be faster to scan my phone than my ID? Either way I have to get one out of my pocket.

    • "Well then what is the fucking point of all this? "

      If the only use you get out of your driver's license is for traffic stops, then it is not useful for you.

      However, in the real world the driver's license has been overloaded with non-driver uses attached to identification: buying alcohol, entering a courthouse or airport, etc.

      (*Theoretically*, digital identification could limit the requestor to only the data they are entitled to request, e.g. if used for buying alcohol it could provide age verification but n

      • (*Theoretically*, digital identification could limit the requestor to only the data they are entitled to request, e.g. if used for buying alcohol it could provide age verification but not your address. )

        An example of NOT practicing minimal access [schneier.com]: "A database of almost a million passports from around the world was leaked online. Note what happened. A high-value credential -- a passport -- was used in an ancillary low-value authentication system: ID verification for cannabis dispensaries. And it’s the low-value system that got hacked, putting the high-value credential at risk."

    • It is a driver's license. If I can't use the Apple wallet version of my driver's license, then it is not fit for purpose.

      Throughout all of history technology development has been ahead of the applications for it. Literally everything you use and take for granted today was not fit for purpose on the day of announcement. Even something as simple as a credit card (who the fuck bought a credit card the first decade it was released, it was borderline useless and unaccepted as a payment mechanism).

  • Uhhhhh... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by guygo ( 894298 ) on Monday August 17, 2026 @07:33PM (#66293846)

    So now they want my ability to prove my identity to rely on the charge state of a battery? NOT!

  • We've had the iPhone driver's license for a few years in California. Guess the one thing you can't do with it? If you said present it if you are stopped by the police, you would be correct. I wonder if this is also the case in other states.
    • We've had the iPhone driver's license for a few years in California. Guess the one thing you can't do with it? If you said present it if you are stopped by the police, you would be correct. I wonder if this is also the case in other states.

      The interesting thing is that the California's own official mDL app incorporates the ability to read a drivers license. I guess California has not provided the needed tech to their own police agency officers.

  • Since invariably, you still need to carry a physical ID for the most serious of applications, according to the article, it's completely pointless.

  • Maybe there is a QR code or something associated with it, but if your license is on your phone, and you hand it to the officer....ummmm
  • The digital IDs can be used at participating TSA checkpoints and businesses without handing over or unlocking an iPhone. So what else can be pulled from your iPhone ? If they can, others can. People walking close to you can gather info.
  • SO officer, Of course let me unlock my phone so you can see my ID.... Wait I didnt say you could look at other stuff...
  • Explains how to set up Apple ID and how to use it [apple.com].
    "To create and present your Apple Digital ID, you need
    * "An Apple Account with two-factor authentication turned on."
    * "An unexpired U.S. passport."
    * Claims: "Your Digital ID data is encrypted. Apple can't see when and where you use your Digital ID, and biometric authentication using Face ID and Touch ID helps make sure that only you can view and use your Digital ID."
    * "If you don't have a U.S. passport to create your Digital ID, you can add an eligible

  • A digital ID is the backup. It is like tap payments when they first came out. There were a few times I forgot my wallet that I knew I could stop by the 7-11 on the way home if I needed something. They were basically the only place near me that accepted apple payments when they first came out.

    Now, most place accept Apple Pay. Most conveniently, public transportation. Just tap my watch and I am through. Yet, you do still need your wallet because lots of place don't accept tapping to pay. And in that wallet

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