A Utah Department of Motor Vehicle employee shows a sample of a digital driver's license on a mobile phone at a demonstration in August 2021 in Salt Lake City. The Transportation Security Administration is finalizing plans to allow for the use of mDLs at airport security checkpoints. George Frey/Getty Images
TSA to allow mobile driver’s licenses after REAL ID goes into effect
The final rule will allow states that have issued mobile driver’s licenses to apply for TSA-issued waivers of certain REAL ID requirements.
The Transportation Security Administration is moving to allow travelers to continue using mobile driver’s licenses to verify their identities at airport security checkpoints after enforcement of REAL ID compliant documentation goes into effect next year.
In a final rule published in the Federal Register on Friday, TSA said it was establishing a temporary process that would allow states to apply for waivers of certain REAL ID requirements for mobile driver’s licenses — or mDLs — after enforcement of the higher security standards begins on May 7, 2025.
The new measure, effective Nov. 25, will allow airports and other federal facilities to accept mDLs for identity verification if the issuing state has received a TSA waiver.
Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005, which established more rigorous requirements for driver’s licenses and government-issued identifications in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Implementation of the standards has since been delayed, however, and lawmakers subsequently amended the law in 2020 to clarify that mDLs are also covered by the REAL ID requirements.
TSA currently accepts mobile driver’s licenses issued by 11 states at 27 airports across the country. The verified personal identification documents are stored on travelers’ cell phones or in apps. The agency said in a press release that it “has a goal of accepting mDLs in all airports, by expanding the technology nationwide.”
According to the text of the final rule, the effort “arises from TSA's desire to accommodate and foster the rapid pace of mDL innovation, while ensuring the intent of the REAL ID Act and regulations are met.”
TSA also said in its rulemaking that it plans to issue “a subsequent rule that would set comprehensive requirements for mDLs.”
It noted, however, that the new measure is a necessity in the absence of federal regulations since states “may become locked-in to existing solutions and could face a substantial burden to redevelop products acceptable to federal agencies under this future rulemaking.”
Some lawmakers have already pushed for Congress to take more of an active role in crafting standards around the use of mDLs and other digital IDs.
Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., who has been a prominent voice in Congress for the broader adoption of digital IDs, introduced legislation in September that would create a task force within the Executive Office of the President to, in part, “improve access and enhance security between physical and digital identity credentials.”
The measure was proposed after Foster and Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., introduced another bill in June that would require TSA to submit a report to lawmakers on its use of digital identities and their potential impact on homeland security. Their legislation passed a House Homeland Security Committee markup in June but has not received a vote in the full House.