WATCH: Should you use a digital ID? Here's what to know

By — Tim McPhillips Tim McPhillips By — Julia Griffin Julia Griffin Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/watch-should-you-use-a-digital-id-heres-what-to-know Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Should you use a digital ID? Here's what to know Nation Jul 8, 2026 5:37 PM EDT State by state, plastic driver's licenses are getting a digital upgrade. Twenty states and Puerto Rico now offer a form of a digital driver's license, also known as a mobile driver's license (mDL). Some states allow you to add it directly to your mobile wallet like a credit card, depending on your phone manufacturer. Others offer a state-created mobile app that stores your credential. READ MORE: Apple unveils new AI features with privacy focus at last developers conference with CEO Tim Cook More than 250 airports in the U.S. already accept a mobile driver's license to board a domestic flight, according to the Transportation Security Administration. Nationwide, mobile wallets on Apple, Google and Samsung phones can hold a digital U.S. passport for domestic travel, too. Here's what you need to know if you're considering adding your driver's license or passport to your mobile wallet. Benefits of digital IDs The idea is simple: When you need to provide identification, like at an airport, a doctor's office or while getting a speeding ticket, you can tap your phone on a reader or present a QR code to be scanned. "You would never hand over your phone," said Ian Grossman, president and CEO of the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), a trade organization that provides state DMVs with best practice guidance as well as software and tech infrastructure. "The whole point of it is to electronically transmit the information." In fact, not handing over a physical ID could actually help limit the information you share, he said. Take, for example, buying a bottle of wine at a liquor store. With a digital driver's license, you could tap to share just your age and a photo, keeping your driver's license number, address and other personally identifiable information private. "All they need to know is you are of legal age to make that purchase. They don't need to know your name. They don't need to know your address," Grossman said. And, if you've ever lost your wallet, or left your ID in a TSA security bin at an airport, it's much easier for a stranger to pick up a plastic ID than access that information on a properly secured phone, with measures that could include facial ID, fingerprint scanning, passwords and remote deactivation. "Even if they're able to do all that, what you have time to do is get to any browser anywhere, log into your online DMV account and say, 'I've lost that device, pull that credential off of that phone,'" Grossman said. Data collection raises concerns The push toward mobile driver's licenses comes as Americans express falling trust in government and a growing desi