Delaware might become the first state in the nation to provide driver’s licenses motorists can keep on their cell phones.
On Thursday, the Delaware House of Representatives passed a resolution “pushing” the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue digital driver’s licenses.
Delaware is not the only state to consider going digital. Iowa announced last year a plan to put licenses on phones.
The [Delaware] resolution cites that “the State of Iowa plans to experiment with digital driver’s licenses in 2015,” as one of its reasons for the move and underscores that “Delaware, with its smaller population, may be in a better position to adopt new digital driver’s license technology.”
MorphoTrust is the license provider for both states and has been working on the digital driver’s license concept for some time.
In an interview earlier this month, MorphoTrust vice president Jenny Openshaw said, “We anticipated this shift a of couple 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.”
The company is considering certain safeguards and security for the licenses such as biometrics, fingerprints and facial recognition.
The technology would be considered optional in Delaware — motorists could still care a physical license with them if they chose to do so.
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