DPS NEWS

Select Utah State Liquor Store Locations to Begin Accepting Mobile Driver’s Licenses to Confirm Legal Age for Alcohol Purchases

Salt Lake City, Utah (November 1, 2021) – The Utah Driver License Division (DLD) and the Utah Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control (DABC) jointly announced that DABC will begin accepting mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) as a legal form of ID for purchases at its Saratoga Springs and Farmington locations. DABC plans to expand to additional locations by the end of the month as part of the state’s mDL pilot program. 

Citizens are invited to get set up with their own mDL at the Saratoga Springs store on Wednesday, November 3rd from from 4-7pm MT and the Farmington store on Thursday, November 4th from 4-7pm MT. A valid Utah driver’s license is required for mDL registration. 

Utah is the first state in the U.S. to pilot an mDL that is fully compliant with international standards that ensure citizens can use their mDL globally as a legal form of identification. The Utah DLD is using GET Mobile Administrator to offer mDLs to citizens, who have the option to opt-into the program. The citizen then has complete control of the data they choose to share – limiting it to what is necessary to complete the transaction rather than sharing full personal information. DABC employees at participating stores will use GET Mobile Verify to contactlessly authenticate that a customer is over the age of 21 without ever touching the customer’s phone or an ID card. Cryptographic proof of ID allows employees to unequivocally confirm the information has not been tampered with. This will eliminate the opportunity for fraud associated with visually inspecting an ID, which is subjective and leaves room for error or oversight of the security features.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), driving while intoxicated is the leading cause of death for U.S. teens, and remains a growing problem. Failing to identify a fraudulent ID can result in significant penalties and even charges for liquor store employees or owners in some circumstances.

“When it comes to purchasing alcohol, the ability to confirm an ID is authentic is especially important for cracking down on underaged drinking and other forms of fraud, which can result in dangerous situations and even the loss of lives,” said Alex Kambanis, Managing Director of GET Group North America. “We are proud to be partnering with Utah DABC and DLD to provide a technology solution that will enable more secure and trustworthy transactions, while also protecting the citizen’s privacy when making their purchases and having the potential to improve the overall customer experience.”

“Mobile IDs are safe, secure, prevent fraud, and are easy-to-use. State liquor store customers who choose to use mobile IDs will experience a safe and quicker transaction time when making their purchases.” said Tiffany Clason, Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC) Director. “The DABC is pleased to support the Utah Department of Public Safety’s Driver License Division to help get this project off the ground.”

Effective immediately, mDLs will be accepted in DABC’s Saratoga Springs location at 1285 North Exchange Drive and Farmington store at 579 Lagoon Drive, with plans to expand to at least 10 locations by the end of the year as part of the pilot. Following completion of the pilot, all Utah DABC locations will accept mDLs pending the state’s widespread rollout of the technology.