Iowa smartphone driver's licenses expected to launch in 2018

Can't find your ID? Check your phone.

Iowans should be able to start downloading their driver's licenses onto smartphones in about 12 to 18 months, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The Iowa DOT has conducted a pilot program with about 100 state employees who used state-issued iPhones last year as test cases in cooperation with MorphoTrust USA, a contractor that provides identity-related products and services.

Iowa is one of the first states in the nation to explore the development of digital driver's licenses, which would be an alternative to traditional plastic driver's licenses. But at least nine other states are now considering the concept.

Based on its research, the DOT worked with technology consultant Gartner on plans to award a contract to develop a fully functional mobile driver's license for public release, said interim DOT Director Mark Lowe. There haven't been any big problems. But there was a challenge to the contract award by an unsuccessful bidder that is delaying completion of the contract, he added.

"That’s put us a few months behind schedule at this point, and that’s making it difficult to predict a 2017 release of a public version," Lowe told The Des Moines Register. "But I’m optimistic we will complete the contracting in the relative near future and begin development, which will put us on track for a release in 2018."

The Iowa DOT's plans, which became public in late 2014, have sparked interest from Australia, Ireland, Wales, the Netherlands, Switzerland and every Canadian province, Lowe said. In some countries where people move freely between borders, there is more of a focus on passports for the technology, he added.

"But there is a very collaborative effort right now between Europe and North America as people start to take on the momentum of what we created," Lowe said.

According to MorphoTrust USA, the Iowa pilot project launched in 2016 provided real user data tested in a wide range of identified use cases. The test group used a downloadable iOS mobile app that required identity verification before the mobile driver's license appeared on the phone.

"We definitely need to be able to accept this as proof of identity and driving privilege where necessary," Lowe said. "Our law enforcement should be able to interact with it. and we should be able to use it to rent a car, get a hotel room, buy cigarettes, buy alcohol — things where you are typically expected to provide some proof of identity."

Lowe also said he wants the digital Iowa driver's license to allow at least domestic travel with approval of the Transportation Security Administration. Security is a priority in developing the product,  he added, which has prompted a "belt and suspenders" approach to digital security that includes outside testing of security measures.

Most states, including Iowa, already allow motorists to show electronic proof of insurance during a traffic stop. Rather than digging through clutter in your glove compartment for an insurance card, you can simply show the information on your smartphone to a law enforcement officer.

Gail Weinholzer, director of public affairs for AAA Minnesota and Iowa, said her organization doesn't have an official stance on mobile driver's licenses.

"But obviously we want it to be user-friendly and protected from those who have ill thoughts about hacking and those sort of things," she added.

Rita Bettis, legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, said her organization has had a number of serious concerns about how the use of the smartphone as a driver's license may affect privacy rights, including rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures of one's phone and its contents during traffic stops. The Supreme Court has ruled the Fourth Amendment protects cellphones from warrantless searches, she noted.

"There are other concerns with the proposal that are not constitutional in nature, but pragmatic. For example, as a practical matter, our understanding is that the system that troopers use in their patrol cars isn't easily compatible with the driver's licenses. It’s also important that any new technology be implemented in a manner that is accessible and nondiscriminatory for license holders," Bettis said.

Software developers and DOT officials have suggested the development of improved technology could help address some privacy issues  involving law enforcement. For instance, rather than handing a smartphone over to an officer, driver's license information could be transmitted to compatible software in an officer's mobile device or a laptop in a patrol car.

Lucy Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration, said TSA is aware of the digital driver’s license pilot program in Iowa and other states.

"We continue tracking any developments but since it’s currently a pilot program, digital driver’s licenses are not accepted as a valid form of identification," she said.

How a mobile driver's license would work

1. After downloading the app to their smartphones, Iowans would receive an email with instructions and a personal identification number.
2. Users would then enter their email and PIN into the app and confirm their identity by taking a “selfie” with their phone’s camera. The app would match the selfie with the on-record photo on a user’s license.
3. Swiping up in the app would show the front of the license. Swiping down would show the back.
4. The information could be automatically updated. For example, on an Iowan’s 21st birthday, the app would automatically switch the license from the vertical, under-21 version to the horizontal, over-21 look.

Source: MorphoTrust USA