State officials are drafting plans for digital driver’s licenses, so you could show your photo ID by pulling out your smart phone. Iowa Department of Transportation director Paul Trombino showed a mock-up to the governor and his aides on Monday.
“This is a digitally-encoded drivers license. It’s on your cellphone, so you can carry it around with you,” Trombino said. “It has as much, if not more, digital encoding than the one in your wallet.”
Trombino said it could be used at a traffic stop, at the airport or anywhere else you’re asked to show identification.
“It really opens up the doorway, I think, for a lot of different types of transactions,” Trombino said.
Trombino expects the digital license would be available to motorists in addition to that small, plastic version for your wallet, at no additional charge. Some motorists are already showing proof of insurance with an app on their smart phones.