CLEVELAND — Ohio residents are now able show their driver's license and state IDs on their iPhone.
Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted announced Wednesday that Ohio is the fifth state in the United States to allow residents to add their identification cards to Apple Wallet.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the DeWine administration's InnovateOhio Platform worked with Apple to develop the Apple Wallet support, which will work "at select business, in select apps" and at TSA checkpoints at select Ohio airports that support digital ID use, such as in Columbus and Cincinnati.
"InnovateOhio aims to make Ohio the most innovative, entrepreneurial state in the Midwest while enhancing convenience for residents through technology," Husted said. "Adding your Ohio driver's license or ID to Apple Wallet is the latest example of modernizing the BMV and simplifying processes for Ohioans. We’ve also launched an app for businesses to read Ohio Mobile IDs, enabling them to utilize this new service."
The new age verification app for businesses, Ohio Mobile ID Check, is available on the App Store now.
The Ohio Department of Public Safety released a video with instructions for residents on how to add their IDs to the Apple Wallet app.
“Ohio has always been a leader in innovation, and now we are the fifth state in the country that gives residents the option to securely add their driver’s license to Apple Wallet,” DeWine said. “This is another example of how Ohio is using technology to better serve its customers and residents.”
Ohio BMV Registrar Charlie Norman said the Apple Wallet support is one of several technological upgrades made with InnovateOhio since 2019 that have "saved Ohioans over 7 million trips to BMV locations and more than 641,000 hours of standing in line."
The Ohio Department of Safety said IDs stored in Apple Wallet are "encrypted on a user's device, so others including Apple, cannot access it unless a user chooses to present it." Officials said neither Apple does not retain any data that can be tied back to a user.
Users must have an "easily readable" driver's license or ID and an iPhone 8 or later running iOS 16.5 or later. It also works of Apple Watch Series 4 devices or later running WatchOS 9.5 or later.
