Hawaii just became the latest U.S. state to support digital driver’s licenses and IDs stored in the Wallet app on iPhone or Apple Watch.
That brings to seven the number of states to support Apple’s system, as several joined since the start of summer.
Hawaii driver’s license goes in iPhone’s Apple Wallet
Replacing a physical wallet with a digital one clearly sits on Apple’s list of long-term goals. iPhones can store credit cards, loyalty cards, tickets and travel passes. Plus there’s car keys and house keys, too. And a fortunate few can add their driver’s license.
Although Apple launched its digital ID initiative back in 2021, adoption moves slowly. In the U.S., it depends on state legislatures and state transportation departments to permit and implement the system. Still, recent months brought multiple additions to the list of states that support digital IDs, with Hawaii being added to the list on Wednesday.
So far, there has yet to be an official announcement from the Aloha State. Users simply noticed that there was a new option in Apple Wallet (as noticed by 9to5Mac). That means details are thin. At this point, it’s not clear whether Hawaii is actually letting its citizens apply for digital IDs or driver’s licenses yet.
But in other areas, the major advantage is speeding up the process of moving through TSA security checkpoints at airports. Currently, no state lets a digital driver’s license completely replace a physical one when interacting with police.
Today’s development didn’t come as a surprise — the Hawaii legislature approved the change in 2022.
Fortunate few
Ohio got on the digital bandwagon in July, while California began rolling out its implementation earlier this month. Apple’s system for digital driver’s licenses and state IDs had already been successfully implemented in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Maryland.
Those in any of these states should read the handy Cult of Mac on how to add your driver’s license to Apple Wallet on your iPhone and Apple Watch.
