If you’re catching a flight in California in 2023, there’s a good chance you’ll have your boarding pass on your phone — so why not have your driver’s license on there as well?
That’s the thinking behind the California Department of Motor Vehicles’ first mobile driver’s license app, or “mDL”: The CA DMV Wallet app.
The DMV says that about 100,000 people have already downloaded the CA DMV Wallet app, which the agency describes as “Digital. Secure. Convenient.” Initially limited to 1.5 million users, this app also can be used as a way to digitally store your official California ID if you don’t have a California driver’s license.
But while this pilot program already offers some perks to those who take advantage of it — mainly around flying out of specific airports — downloading the mDL app doesn’t mean you can ditch your physical license just yet.
As the DMV acknowledges, this app is only “authorized for limited usage” at the moment. So keep reading for what you can (and can’t) do right now with a mobile driver’s license or ID in California.
What can you do with your mobile driver’s license?
Use it to enter security at certain airports — but only if you have PreCheck
If you are flying out of certain airports — including SFO, SJC and LAX — and have TSA PreCheck, you will be able to use the CA DMV Wallet app in the PreCheck line instead of presenting your physical license. You’ll do this by tapping your phone on the TSA reader in the line. But you’ll still need to carry your physical ID with you, in case you’re asked for it.
The mDL is only available for TSA PreCheck passengers because the app is in the initial stages of its pilot, DMV spokesperson Anita Gore told KQED in an interview. So if you don’t have PreCheck, you still have to present your physical ID even if you have CA DMV Wallet on your phone.
See a full list of U.S. airports already accepting the mDL in their PreCheck lines.
Buy alcoholic beverages at (some) convenience stores
You can now use your mobile driver’s license to purchase age-restricted items, like beer, wine, cigarettes and vaping products — but only at certain Circle K stores … within the Sacramento area.
“Instead of handing over your driver’s license that has your name, address, height and weight, you can simply prove your age by scanning the QR code that comes with age verification,” DMV spokesperson Gore said. This will “prove that you’re over 21 and have the ability to buy whatever it is you’re requesting, and you can go on your merry way.”
Another thing to note: You’ll need to activate the TruAge capability in your CA DMV Wallet app when you sign up for the mDL pilot, says the DMV, otherwise you won’t be able to use it to buy age-verified products — even if your mobile driver’s license says you’re old enough to do so. In this circumstance, you’ll still need to pull out your physical ID. Read more on how to activate TruAge in the app.
See a list of Circle K stores in the Sacramento area currently accepting the CA DMV Wallet with TruAge enabled. In the coming months, the DMV says it hopes to expand age verification through the mobile driver’s license to other stores in the state.
What can’t you do with your mobile driver’s license?
Right now? Anything else other than the above, basically.
Because the mobile driver’s license is still in its infancy, if you download the app you should consider yourself a participant in its pilot program, rather than a user of a fully-tested, widely-used app.
“Law enforcement, state government agencies and businesses aren’t yet accepting the mDL,” says the DMV’s site.
So unless you’re traveling from SFO to LAX with TSA PreCheck, or purchasing alcohol in a participating Circle K in the Sacramento area, you’ll need to present your physical ID as normal. (And even if you are doing those things, you should almost certainly still bring your hard-copy driver’s license along with you anyway.)