Ohio residents can now add their state IDs and driver’s licenses to the iPhone’s Wallet app. Ohio is the fifth US state to support this feature.
First announced in September 2021, Apple revealed an ambitious plan to make its Wallet app the main wallet for every user. The company wanted every US state to add support for this technology so people could keep their physical IDs at home.
However, almost three years have passed, and adoption has been slow. In March 2022, Arizona was the first state to add support, followed by Maryland in May, Colorado in November, and Georgia in May 2023.
Since then, no other US state has added support for driver’s licenses in the Apple Wallet app. Ohio seems to be breaking that streak. First spotted by X user Henry Molski (via Appleosophy), Apple now offers Ohio residents the ability to add a driver’s license in the iPhone’s Wallet app.
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Today’s #Ohio’s lucky day! Ohio Mobile ID has finally come to the @Apple Wallet on iOS + WatchOS.
Takes just a few minutes answer questions. Digital ID gets delivered about a minute later with this very nice holographic effect when you tilt you phone.
Thanks, @Ohio_BMV! pic.twitter.com/LJA4rQXLhi
— Henry Molski (@HankMolski) July 31, 2024
In March 2022, Apple said a total of eight states were committed to supporting the feature “soon.” Ohio was one of them. These are other US states that could soon add support for adding driver licenses in the Wallet app:
- Connecticut
- Hawaii
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
- Utah
Apple says IDs in the Wallet app can be used as proof of age or identity at “select businesses and venues.” This feature can also be used at select TSA checkpoints within US airports.
At the moment, it’s unclear if more US states or even more countries plan to add this feature for their citizens. Since the US offers a more complex approach, as IDs change in each state, the company could potentially find success in other countries where a unique ID is offered by the federal government instead of requiring permission from each state.