Identity Opportunity: Alaska DMV Leads the Way on Mobile ID

The Alaska mID app has two versions, both available for download through the Apple App Store or Google Play. The personal mID app is for individuals, also called holders; the verifier app is for businesses, government agencies, and other organizations that choose to accept the mID as a valid form of identification. Both are free to download and use. Whiteside believes both apps are “pretty self-explanatory.”

“We’ve tried to make it as user-friendly as possible, so [users] don’t have to come to a DMV office, they don’t have to call us,” she says. “You should be able to completely enroll independently, and for the most part, that is what’s happened.”

The entire process, from download to verification of credentials, which requires scanning an ID document or manually uploading the information, takes less than five minutes. Once uploaded, the information is stored in a secure, standalone digital wallet—the mID is not currently integrated into Apple Wallet or Google Wallet—that only the holder can access. The app can be accessed via a six-digit passcode, Face ID, or fingerprint.

Using the mID is even easier. Opening the app displays an abbreviated version of the ID document—name, driver’s license or identification number, date of birth, signature, and photo; tapping the card expands it to show all the information included in the physical ID. Below that is a “verify credential” button that creates a QR code for the verifier to scan using the verifier app; the QR code confirms the holder’s identity, age, and any driving restrictions.

Card Companion

While the Alaska mID is convenient and eliminates the need to share irrelevant information with verifiers, Whiteside stresses that it is a companion to the physical card, not a replacement.

“Think of it kind of like your Apple Pay or your credit card on your phone,” she says. “When I use it, I still have my credit card in my purse. I still have it on me.”

There may come a point in the future where the Alaska mID eliminates the need to carry the physical card, Whiteside says, but it’s hard to know when it could happen.

“It kind of depends on the next few years, nationally, what happens with this movement,” she says. Even then, there are logistical reasons why leaving home without the physical card is not advisable.

“The phone does need connectivity to keep real-time updates, so if you’re out in remote communities,” you may be unable to access the Alaska mID, Whiteside says. “If the phone is dead, that hard card still needs to be on backup. There are pros and cons to both, so that’s why we’re very [clear] about it being a companion credential.”

On the Forefront

The use of digital IDs is a national movement, with all but four states—Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nebraska—in varying stages of implementation, according to the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, a nonprofit that develops model programs in motor vehicle administration for member programs in the United States and Canada and, through its mobile driver’s license Digital Trust Service, supports member jurisdictions working to deliver mobile credential programs to their residents. The Motor Vehicle Administrators Digital Trust Service also aggregates member jurisdictions’ public keys and makes them available for download to verifiers, which could allow for the acceptance of the Alaska mID outside the state’s borders. Alaska is one of the first states to have its mID included in the digital trust service, putting the state ahead of the curve.

“This is the way of the future,” Whiteside says. “It’s not often that DMV gets to be part of a technology initially and kind of be on the forefront, so we were really excited to get to do that this time.”

Because the mID is voluntary, verifiers—whether those verifiers are government agencies, businesses, or organizations—are not required to accept it as a valid form of identification.

“As of right now, it’s not a requirement for anybody to use this,” she explains. “This is purely a consent-driven application. DMV encourages people to download the app, but it is an option to download at their leisure.”

Whiteside says the DMV is “doing everything we possibly can to get the word out” to encourage Alaskan residents to download the app and to urge businesses, agencies, and organizations to integrate the verifier app into their systems.

“We have talked about it to as many branches of law enforcement, as many retailers as we can get our hands on,” Whiteside says. “We’ve got emails out to lots of state agencies, spoken with the Alcohol[ic] Beverage Control Board. We have done our due diligence in trying to educate as many groups as possible.”

Adapting to Advancements

Whiteside says the DMV is not at liberty to confirm which government organizations or agencies, if any, have decided to accept the mID. Big box stores like Target and Home Depot, she says, will decide whether to accept digital IDs en masse rather than piecemeal, meaning the retailers will either accept it at every store nationwide or not at all.

As for law enforcement, the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) were at different stages of acceptance, as of this spring.

“The Alaska Department of Public Safety, including the Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers, accept a State of Alaska mobile ID as a valid form of government identification,” Alaska Department of Public Safety Communications Director Austin McDaniel wrote in an email. “[It is] currently accepted by Troopers in the same manner that physical Alaska identification cards are accepted.”

The APD had yet to approve the mID as a valid form of identification, but APD Deputy Director, Community Relations Christopher Barraza said in an email that the department remains in talks with the DMV about the mobile credential.

“The Anchorage Police Department is always adapting to advancements in technology that enhance public safety and improve efficiency,” Barraza wrote. “We are working with the DMV to ensure we can maintain security and verification standards. Our priority remains ensuring that officers and the public can rely on identification methods that are secure, accessible, and effective.”

Whiteside says that the federal Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is expected to accept Alaska’s mID at TSA checkpoints that support digital IDs by late 2025. Already, airports in fourteen states and Puerto Rico currently accept some form of digital ID, according to the TSA website.

The mID is catching on with the public, too. Within one month of its March rollout, Whiteside says more than 650 Alaskans had downloaded the holder app. As that population continues to grow, she says, the DMV expects the verifier community to grow with it.

“Everyone understandably is hesitant,” she says. “It’s new, it’s technology. Those are all things that scare people for the most part. But the numbers are showing a slow burn of acceptance [and] growth is happening every day. We’re really excited about that.”