DPS NEWS

New Mobile Driver License to Offer Utahns Enhanced Privacy

Pilot Project Set to Begin for 100 Participants

The Utah Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Driver License Division (DLD) is taking the first steps toward moving Utahns’ identities out of their wallets and into the 21st century with the initiation of a mobile driver license (mDL) and identification card pilot program. In addition to the convenience aspect of adding the primary form of identification to Utahns’ mobile phones, the primary benefit the mDL will offer Utahns is enhanced privacy by minimizing the amount of personal data they share, in contrast to what they now share when handing over a physical card. Utah’s mDL will be the first in the nation that will incorporate the industry standards established for privacy, security, interoperability, and authenticity. The pilot program is now ready to begin with approximately 100 select participants and will expand to 10,000 participants including the broader public later in the year. 

What Utah’s mDL Is

Utah’s mDLs are a secure, contactless digital form of ID that give citizens control of the personal information they share with businesses. The pilot project aims to establish acceptance of the mDL by Utahns through use in real-world scenarios such as banking, travel, traffic stops, and restaurant and liquor store transactions that require age verification. The mDL is accessed through an app that users download to their mobile device and entities such as banks or grocery stores will utilize a reader that will request, receive and verify the integrity and authenticity of the mDL by accessing the DLD’s information infrastructure.

First mDL to Incorporate Privacy and Security Standards

What makes Utah’s mDL unique and pioneering is what it’s not: it’s not just a photo or digital representation of your driver license. Unlike other pilot programs, Utah’s mDL fully utilizes standards outlined by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators in their mDL Implementation Guidelines and established by the International Organization for Standards (ISO). These standards provide the benefit of cryptographic proof of identity that cannot be achieved by simply showing your phone screen to a clerk at a business. They establish the standards by which an mDL and mDL reader will access the DLD’s infrastructure in order to verify the information contained in the mDL.

Selective Data Sharing

Utah’s mDL will allow users to have control over data minimization, which is a primary component of privacy. Data minimization means that a mDL holder can release only select data elements to a verifying entity. This stands in contrast to sharing all data as individuals do now when they hand over a physical card. For example, when using a mDL to prove one’s age, the mDL holder can limit data release to only a portrait image and the fact that the mDL holder is older than 18. This privacy aspect is a primary benefit to Utahns who utilize the mDL.

“Our Driver License Division is committed to working with residents and stakeholders to implement a solution which provides the highest value to Utahns: one which is accepted anywhere, provides enhanced privacy, security and personal control,” said DPS Commissioner Jess L. Anderson. “Your privacy is of the utmost importance to us. The mDL gives you control over your data. You choose what information to share when your identification is requested.”

Utah State Senator Lincoln Fillmore led the efforts to get the mobile driver license piloted in the state. Following the passage of Senator Fillmore’s SB100 during the 2019 legislative session, the Driver License Division began the process of studying the cost, process and vendors necessary to implement mDL in the state.

For mDL, Utah DLD is working with GET Group North America and its technology partner Scytáles to provide GET Mobile ID, an ISO 18013-5-compliant application that puts an official driver license or ID Card on a citizen’s smartphone. The contactless ID document can be verified with a tap or scan and is accepted worldwide using any ISO 18013-5 compliant reader, such as GET Mobile Verify.  The GET/Scytáles mDL technology was the first to pass the formal conformity assessment testing, meant to ensure compliance to the stringent standards that allow for global acceptance and interoperability.

Pending the outcome of the pilot project, the results will be shared with the legislature which will determine whether or not to implement the mDL statewide. Utahns will continue to have the option to receive a physical card for the driver license or identification card.  

ISO18013-5 Compliance

Utah’s mDLs are the first in the nation to be fully compliant with the International Standards Organization’s interface and related requirements to facilitate compliant driver license functionality on a mobile device. The requirements are specifically intended to enable verifiers not affiliated with or associated with the issuing authority to gain access to and authenticate the information. In addition, the requirements allow the holder of the driving license to decide what information to release to a verifier. Other major advantages include the ability to update information frequently, and to authenticate information at a high level of confidence.

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Website With Additional Information

For additional information about the mDL, visit https://mobiledl.us/my-mdl

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Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve got answers to Frequently Asked Questions here: https://mobiledl.us/faq

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