TSA Begins Accepting myColorado Mobile Driver’s Licenses

The Transportation Security Administration has begun accepting mobile driver’s licenses stored in the myColorado app at airport security checkpoints, extending the state’s digital credential beyond its existing uses with state services and participating businesses.

Colorado residents can now present the standards-based credential at Denver International Airport and every other TSA-screened airport in the state. It is also accepted at more than 250 participating airports across the United States.

At checkpoints equipped with second-generation Credential Authentication Technology, or CAT-2, a traveler opens the credential in the myColorado app and holds the phone near the reader. The equipment retrieves the information needed for screening, confirms the traveler’s same-day ticketing status and compares the credential portrait with a live image.

TSA says the checkpoint image is not stored after the comparison. Facial matching remains optional, and travelers can request a manual identity check instead. The agency continues to advise passengers to carry a physical driver’s license or another accepted identity document as a backup.

The mobile license is available at no additional cost through the myColorado app. Users must have a valid Colorado driver’s license or state identification card and complete the app’s identity-verification process before adding the digital credential.

Colorado says its mDL follows the ISO/IEC 18013-5 standard, which allows a holder to transmit selected identity data to a compatible reader rather than displaying the full credential on a screen. That model can limit disclosure to the information required for a particular transaction.

The airport rollout follows continued federal acceptance of mobile licenses as TSA expands support for state-issued digital credentials. Apple Wallet, Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet credentials from participating jurisdictions are also supported at compatible checkpoints.

CAT-2 equipment combines credential authentication with the facial comparison technology deployed at airport checkpoints. TSA has framed the equipment as a way to automate document checks while allowing officers to focus on exceptions and other screening tasks.

The myColorado app can also store a digital vehicle registration, vaccination records and other state-issued information. Its mobile driver’s license remains a companion to the physical card rather than a replacement for every situation in which identification may be requested.

Sources: Transportation Security Administration, myColorado, TSA Digital ID

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team