Illinois residents are a step closer to having everything on their phone — including their ID cards.
Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias has thrown his support behind an Illinois House bill that would allow people across the state to carry a digital driver’s license or state ID.
Licenses could go digital by early next year as long as the bipartisan bill doesn’t hit any bumps in the road on its way through the Illinois Legislature, according to a Secretary of State’s Office news release.
Digital licenses will not be a replacement for any physical identification cards, but will be a “companion,” according to Giannoulias’ office.
Anyone presenting a digital driver’s license during a traffic stop or at a checkpoint won’t be dinged for not having a physical license on them, according to the bill. Flashing a phone as a license does not give law enforcement consent to search the device.
“Smartphones have become convenient places to store everything from movie tickets,
boarding passes and credit cards,” Giannoulias said in the news release. “With technological advancements and additional safeguards to make it the most secure and state-of-the-art system in the nation, we’re confident Illinoisans will soon have the option to ‘carry’ a digital version of their driver’s license or state ID.”
The fee to add a digital driver’s license will not be greater than $6, according to the bill.
A dozen states already offer digital licenses, with 18 more working toward adding them, according to Giannoulias’ office.
Specifics on where driver’s licenses will live on phones — whether it’s in Apple’s wallet app or a specifically designed app — will be determined by the Secretary of State’s office only after the process becomes legal.
