Indiana Plans an Opt-In Mobile Driver’s Licence Within 18 Months

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is preparing an optional mobile driver’s licence that would let residents prove their age or identity without exposing the rest of the data printed on a physical card.

Matt Kestian, general counsel at the bureau, told the Interim Study Committee on Roads and Transportation that the option should be ready within 18 months. The agency has no vendor and no cost estimate at this stage, and lawmakers on the committee asked about the budget.

The digital licence would not replace the physical one. Residents who opt in would download an application that uses a face scan or fingerprint to confirm the person holding the phone matches the bureau’s records before the credential activates or is used.

“You wouldn’t be able to give your phone to your child,” Kestian said.

In use it behaves like a tap-to-pay card, sharing data with a mobile driver’s licence reader rather than being handed over. Kestian framed the selective disclosure as the main gain.

“Why does the bar need to know that person’s home address?” he said. “Right now, if they’re getting a physical driver’s license, that bar has access to that person’s address, date of birth, organ donation status, veteran status, all of the other things that may appear on a driver’s license. They don’t need it.”

A 2023 law authored by committee chair Rep. Jim Pressel directs the bureau to comply with international data security standards, with the aim of preventing law enforcement, government agencies and commercial parties from using the credential to track holders. Kestian said a law enforcement agency will not be able to subpoena the bureau for a list of a person’s purchases or visits, because the system is designed not to hold that information. He added that an officer will not be able to take a phone and look through it.

Expected uses include buying alcohol and tobacco, traffic stops and banking. The credential will also cover learner’s permits and state identification cards.

The work follows an executive order on modernisation issued by Governor Mike Braun in April, and comes after the bureau introduced electronic car titles and liens. About 20 states now offer some form of digital licence or ID, and Apple confirmed in August that its Wallet credential would reach four more states.

Sources: Indiana Capital Chronicle

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team