“Real” ID

The other day I jumped in a friend’s car for a quick errand. Doing the quick pocket check I noticed that all I had was my cell phone. Oh well, where we were going didn’t require the need for money or identification. If I did need money I could probably use the mobile pay feature. The thought did cross my mind though,  “What if I needed to identify myself to authorities”? Would security officers or the police accept the personal contact card on my phone as my identity?

Without a government issued ID isn’t your phone just like a wallet full of credit, library, reward cards, etc.? Lots of stuff with your name on it but no official identification. For the most part I doubt any police officer would accept information about you on a phone in your possession as a positive ID. They’d probably take it into consideration and just do it old school. Get all of the pertinent details and run a computer check to verify your identity.

Driver’s licenses as ID

When automobiles started roaming the countryside they and their operators were unregistered. In 1901 New York was the first state to require automobiles to be registered. Many states followed suit and required licenses for autos but not the drivers. Massachusetts and Missouri required the first personal U.S. driver’s licenses in 1903. Since that time driver’s licenses have been used not only as an affirmation that the state approved the holder to operate an automobile, but also as a form of personal identification.

Since the U.S. has no national identification cards, the driver’s license has filled that void.

Digital driver’s licenses, to be displayed on phones, are being considered in several states, Maryland being one of those. Security and privacy issues are at the forefront of these considerations. In the Apple v FBI standoff we saw how difficult it is for law enforcement to unlock and/or view information on a persons phone. So until your state adopts a digital driver’s license using your phone to identify yourself probably wouldn’t be taken as official.

Security? Using your phone probably a definite no, as you need a government issued photo ID to get in to facilities and to travel. Airlines accept digital boarding passes when backed by government issued photo DI’s. Even your standard driver’s license is changing. To combat fraud and counterfeits states have been updating licenses and the way they are issued. Although many states took up the license issue themselves, Congress ensured that all states would have to get on board passing the REAL ID Act in 2005.

REAL ID Act

The REAL ID Act set the benchmark for personal forms of identification establishing minimum security standards for driver’s license issuance and production. Further, the act prohibited federal agencies like the TSA from accepting driver’s licenses from states that do not meet the standards. The deadline set by the act is January 22, 2018. After that date residents of all states will need a Real ID Act compliant driver’s license or a passport to pass through airport security.

The act requires that driver’s licenses include all the identification features you would assume but also digital photographs, physical security features that prevent tampering or counterfeiting, and machine readable technology (barcodes/magnetic stripers). As the concept of digital driver’s licenses is being studied, the effective date of the REAL ID Act in 2018 will either extend or quash those studies.

List of REAL ID compliant states can be found on the Department of Homeland Security page, REAL-ID 

While you could probably identify yourself with the contents of your phone it is doubtful you’d get through a serious police encounter. You certainly couldn’t board an airplane. Probably better to add “license” to your pocket checklist.

Read the blog archives for another post about personal identification.

Can I see some ID? February 2014