Nearly 70 million Americans are now eligible to fly within the U.S. with a digital ID stored on their phones.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced Tuesday that it now accepts mobile driver licenses (mDLs) issued by New York, the ninth state whose digital IDs can be read by the agency’s Credential Authentication Technology (CAT-2) readers.
“We are pleased to be able to add this state-of-the-art digital ID to the list of acceptable IDs at our security checkpoints,” says Robert Duffy, TSA’s Federal Security Director for LaGuardia Airport. “Travelers who want to take advantage of this new capability will find that their New York mobile ID is a convenient option when going through the security process.”
To obtain a TSA-compliant digital ID, New Yorkers can download the New York Mobile ID app from the App Store or Google Play to their smartphone. Residents of New York can obtain a New York Mobile ID at no additional cost as long as they have a valid license, permit, or non-driver ID card issued by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.
Paperless boarding passes have been around for nearly two decades, but the TSA and individual states haven’t kept pace in issuing mobile identification. The agency only began testing digital ID acceptance at select checkpoints in early 2022.
How To Fly With A Digital Driver’s License
To use a digital driver’s license at a TSA checkpoint, your flight must be departing from one of the more than two dozen U.S. airports where the agency’s CAT-2 readers available at security checkpoints.
“Digital credentials are the future of identity verification,” says Mark J.F. Schroeder, New York’s DMV Commissioner. “This is an exciting way to prove who you are without having to dig through your wallet or purse to find your physical document. Rather than handing over your physical ID with lots of personal information, the mobile ID gives you greater control over what personal data you share, making it both more convenient and much safer for you.”
Travelers can scan their mobile ID with the CAT-2 reader to validate their identity. (CAT-2 readers can also scan REAL ID-compliant physical driver licenses.) These devices snap a real-time picture of you and compare it with your digital ID using facial recognition technology. Through a secure internet connection to TSA’s Secure Flight system, the units are also able to verify that you are ticketed for air travel that day, so there’s no need to show a boarding pass to the TSA officer. After the transaction, “your photo and biographic information will be deleted from these devices,” according to the TSA website.
Will The TSA Accept Your Digital Driver’s License?
Not any digital driver’s license works; it must be issued by one of the nine states whose mobile IDs are compliant with TSA technology. For example, travelers can’t simply store a photo of their physical driver’s license in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and head to the airport.
In March 2022, Arizona teamed up with Apple to become the first state to deploy a new technology that allows passengers to use their state-issued mobile driver’s license or mobile identification card in Apple Wallet to verify their identity for airport security screening purposes. Since then, Colorado, Maryland, and Georgia have since joined Arizona. (All four states also allow storage in a Google Wallet.)
The TSA also began accepting mobile IDs from Utah in March 2023, Iowa in October 2023 and California in December 2023.
Last month, Louisiana became the eighth state to have its mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) accepted at TSA checkpoints with digital ID readers nationwide. Louisianans who download the state’s LA Wallet app to their smart phones can now use it for identity verification during the screening process at airport checkpoints equipped with CAT-2 readers.
The mDL program is not to be confused with TSA PreCheck, a separate paid, expedited screening program available at roughly 200 airports across the country where travelers are pre-screened for their security risk. TSA PreCheck uses biometrics to verify a passenger’s identity during the enrollment process.
