Newstrack: With users of Iowa Mobile ID growing, DOT adds another option

Background

DES MOINES — Iowa Mobile ID was made available to the public in November 2023, heralded at the time as an “innovative solution” for Iowans.

The app — which is free, works on both Apple and Android devices, and is available on both the Apple and Google Play stores — creates a digital version of an Iowa Driver’s License.

The Iowa Mobile ID can be used at businesses to verify a person’s age for purchasing alcohol or tobacco, as well as for identification at certain TSA PreCheck checkpoints at Iowa airports, including The Eastern Iowa Airport and the Des Moines International Airport.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, when Iowa Mobile ID was announced to the public last year, praised the app as the first of its kind in the U.S.

“I’m so proud of the DOT and the Department of Revenue’s Alcoholic Beverages Division working together on an innovative solution that provides convenience and added security for Iowans as they use their IDs for a variety of purposes,” Reynolds said in a statement at the time.

What’s happened since

Since being made available to the public last year, the app is being used by more than 38,000 Iowans, according an official with the Iowa Department of Transportation, the state agency that manages the app.

It is not known how many businesses allow the use of Iowa Mobile ID, because the state does not require notification from those businesses, a DOT official said. Businesses have the option of notifying the state, which maintains a list on the Iowa DOT website. As of this week, 38 Iowa businesses were on the DOT list.

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The state announced this week that Iowans who use Apple devices can now use the Iowa Mobile ID in their Apple Wallet, an app on Apple devices that houses digital versions of credit cards, event tickets, and forms of identification like insurance cards.

The Iowa Mobile ID was already available for use in Samsung Wallet on some Samsung phones.

According to Iowa DOT, the Iowa Mobile ID uses privacy and security features built into Apple devices to help protect a user’s identity and personal information. When an Iowa Mobile ID is added to an Apple Wallet, the DOT receives only the information it needs to approve or deny the request, the DOT said. After that, the user’s information is encrypted and neither Apple nor the Iowa DOT know when or to whom a user presents their Mobile ID, the DOT said.

The Iowa DOT says the Iowa Mobile ID is a companion to a physical Iowa Driver’s License and does not replace it. Iowans should still carry their physical card, the DOT says.

The Iowa Mobile ID cannot be used as a form of state-issued ID when voting, according to Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate.

Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com

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