The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles said passengers going through security checkpoints at LaGuardia and JFK airports won’t have to keep digging through their bags for their IDs.
Now, New Yorkers can put their driver’s license, learner permit, or non-driver ID right on their smartphones. Lisa Koumjian, the deputy commissioner at the New York State DMV, said it can be used beyond our state.
"The New York mobile ID, as soon you download it, can be used anywhere it's accepted,” said Koumjian. “Other states have mobile IDs similar to ours. If they accept, let's say Iowa or Louisiana for example, and you travel to those states, your New York mobile ID will work there as well."
The DMV said anyone with a valid state-issued ID can download the app through Google Play or the App Store. The mobile ID can only be put on one device at a time. Koumjian said it’s designed to be more private and secure than a physical ID.
"(If) you lose your phone, your mobile ID is completely protected,” she said. “You have to enter either a six-digit pin that you set up, or you can unlock it with your face or your fingerprint, face ID, or touch ID, so it's secure."
The DMV said it’s also working with businesses, organizations, and state government partners to teach them how the mobile ID works and how they can accept it for identity or age verification purposes.
