Colorado's mobile driver licence now gets you through airport security
Residents can show a QR code at TSA checkpoints at more than 250 airports instead of handing over a plastic card.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has launched the myColorado Mobile Driver License, which the Transportation Security Administration accepts at Denver International Airport and more than 250 other airports, StateScoop reported.
At the checkpoint, travellers scan a QR code and the reader takes a live photo, which verifies their identity, flight details and screening type. They do not need to hand over a physical ID, boarding pass or phone. The state says the app follows international identity standards.
"Finally! You can use your myColorado app to fly at the airport! We have been working on this for years," Polis said at the launch in Denver. "More than 2 million Coloradans already use the app to access digital IDs, hunting and fishing licenses, vehicle registrations, age verification, and more."
Two credentials in one wallet
Only the new mobile licence is accepted by TSA. It is separate from the app's existing Colorado Digital ID, though both sit in the myColorado Wallet and work with the state's Digital ID Verifier, which lets businesses and agencies scan a QR code to confirm a credential is genuine.
The state also points to a practical benefit: a secure digital credential can serve as a backup when a physical licence is lost or stolen.
Airport security has become the showcase use for mobile licences in the US, because it is a federal check that millions of people meet in person. The next step is less visible but more important: federal services online, where Login.gov has now begun accepting mobile licences to verify identity.
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