Idemia Completes Field Test for West Virginia’s Mobile Driver’s License

West Virginia could become the next U.S. state to get a mobile driver’s license, and the latest to base its digital ID solution on Idemia technology.

In a celebratory post on LinkedIn, Chad Daigle suggested that a field test with the Transportation Security Administration had been completed, calling it “a significant step in the upcoming launch of the Mobile Driver’s license program.” Daigle is the Program Leader for Idemia’s Digital Identity COE unit.

“A special thanks to the TSA, the WV team and Gary Talbott for supporting this important milestone,” he wrote. “Stay tuned for the official launch!!!”

A small handful of states have launched mobile driver’s licenses and IDs, many of which are based on Idemia’s technology, including those in Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Mississippi, and, most recently, New York. The systems often incorporate selfie-based facial recognition in their onboarding process, comparing users’ selfie photos to those on their physical identity documents for the purpose of identity verification.

Idemia’s mobile driver’s license efforts began in earnest in 2021, when its Mobile ID for the Iowa Department of Transportation passed UL’s mDL conformity assessment. That paved the way for broader adoption across the United States. By 2023, Idemia had expanded its Mobile ID technology to several states. In October 2023, Idemia partnered with Samsung to integrate mobile driver’s licenses into the Samsung Wallet, with Arizona and Iowa as the first states to implement the feature.

Idemia also notably became the first to obtain global industry certification for its Mobile ID Reader and Verify SDK, based on the ISO 18013 Part 5 standard for mobile driving licenses, earlier this year.

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September 19, 2024 – by Alex Perala