More than 100,000 NYers seek digital driver's licenses

ALBANY — More than 20,000 Long Islanders are among the 100,000 New Yorkers who have so far applied for optional digital driver's licenses for their cellphones that can be used in the place of traditional cards as a means of identification, even as concern over privacy and civil rights rises in the State Legislature.

The new Mobile ID doesn’t replace traditional driver's licenses, learner permits or nondriver ID cards. The state advises Mobile ID users to still carry their traditional licenses as the touchless, digital identification gains more acceptance.

That's because there are limitations. Most police agencies and most businesses, including bars, convenience and liquor stores, and restaurants, don’t accept Mobile ID for identification at this point, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The state’s Mobile ID is accepted at nearly 30 airports nationwide — out of 483 international airports — by the federal Transportation Security Administration, including at LaGuardia and Kennedy airports. Mobile ID also is compliant with the federal REAL ID program, which will require the enhanced-security licenses for domestic flights and to enter some federal buildings beginning May 7, 2025, said Lisa Koumjian, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

More than 25 states have or are in the process of producing digital driver’s licenses and nearly a dozen more are considering it, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. New York’s Mobile ID is designed to work in other states with digital licenses and identification cards created with the same software, Koumjian said. In states that don't have the software, data from Mobile ID could be viewed, but not electronically scanned.

So far, 10,748 Nassau County residents and 9,198 Suffolk County residents have applied for the app.

Koumjian said the state is rolling out Mobile ID to the public and will soon focus on trying to get businesses and police agencies to accept it as an option to traditional cards. “Law enforcement sees this as the future as well,” she said. “There is very strong interest in this from law enforcement.”

She said some police agencies already may have accepted use of the digital licenses, but most, including State Police, are working on equipment they need to scan them and to revise policies.

Koumjian noted most people use their driver's license or nondriver ID for mundane purposes, such as identifying themselves at a doctor’s office, restaurants and bars, and stores selling alcohol and tobacco products. All of these areas of business are showing interest in the digital ID, and the state Liquor Authority is expected to urge its liquor store licensees to explore using the digital identification, she said.

Business operators say they want more information.

"The business owners and their employees need to know how to properly verify these IDs — and that direction needs to come from each agency," said Scott Wexler, executive director of the Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association. "I'm unaware of any such guidance."

The DMV said Mobile ID offers more security than a card. With Mobile ID, encrypted security features minimize the use of fake or expired IDs that help protect businesses and organizations. And unlike cards, use of Mobile ID can provide only data that is necessary for its use, such as a photo and whether the user is 21 years old or older, the legal drinking age in New York State. 

Mobile ID also provides updated information fast, including address changes or suspension of the identification card. That avoids the weeks often needed to update a license, permit or ID card.

If a user loses their phone, the Mobile ID data will still be protected by facial recognition software, the user’s fingerprint or passcode. By comparison, if a New Yorker loses a card license, permit or ID, that information could be accessed by others, including identity thieves.

There are, however, privacy and civil rights concerns.

Proposed legislation would prohibit law enforcement officials presented with a Mobile ID identification from searching a cellphone for data that could be related to immigration status or other sensitive information. Police also would be prohibited from asking for consent to search the phone.

"We don’t want a surveillance state," Assembly Deputy Majority Leader Michaelle Solages (D-Elmont) said. "People want technology to improve lives, but they also don’t want to be tracked."

The legislators’ concern stems in part from the state’s Green Light Law. That measure allows undocumented immigrants regardless of their legal immigration status to obtain a standard driver's license that isn’t subject to federal purposes, such as immigration enforcement. The law was the focus of an unsuccessful effort in 2020 by the administration of then-President Donald Trump to obtain state databases on drivers as part of enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Solages said discussions continue with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration to include more privacy and civil rights safeguards to Mobile ID.

DMV spokesman Tim O’Brien said Mobile ID is designed to be "contactless," so police wouldn’t have to touch or handle the cellphone.

O’Brien notes no immigration data is contained on Mobile ID, or in traditional licenses, permits and ID cards. In addition, the Mobile ID data can only be unlocked by the user’s face biometric, fingerprint or personal identification number.

The DMV said Mobile ID can’t be used to track the user’s locations or movements.

New Yorkers can download the Mobile ID app from Google Play or the App Store. Mobile ID can be used with Android 7 or newer phones or on iPhone 6 or new models. New Yorkers must use Face ID or Touch ID to use Mobile ID.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.