You soon will be able to get your Florida driver’s license over an app
Florida will allow a smart phone app for digital driver’s licenses, with security controls that meet national and international standards.
Terry Rhodes, executive director of the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department, said the innovative project will turn the state into a “national leader” by offering digital identification that is secure and trustworthy.
The new digital licenses are expected to become available starting in 2021, according to Thales, the technology company that will run the program.
They will be equally as valid as the traditional versions for verifying identity, age and driving privileges, Thales said in a news release.
And they will enable Floridians to confirm their identities online for a variety of services.
“Now, to complement the traditional use of driver licenses to prove their identity, Florida residents will be able to simply activate their mobile identification application, select the type of verification needed, and hold up their mobile device,” the release said. “The mobile device never leaves the owner’s hand, making it a contact-free and convenient way to show ID.”
For more privacy, users of the digital driver’s licenses will be able to control the information shown by the smart phone application, according to their requirements. To enter a casino, for example, the license will show only the age of the person, not the name or home address
Tony Lo Brutto, Thales vice president for Identity and Biometric Solutions, said that as identity fraud becomes more frequent and sophisticated, the company made it a priority to reinforce ID verification by adding security technologies to its products.
These mobile driver’s licenses are more difficult to falsify than a simple digital image of a driver’s license, which can be easily manipulated, because they contain a digitized credential that is secure and whose authenticity can be checked, according to the company.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 5:24 PM.