We have a saying in our household that whenever we go out, we take “keys, wallet, phone.” It’s a reminder of the basic possessions we should have on hand before the door is locked from the outside. If you live in California, you can look forward to having just two things: keys and phone. According to leaks, the official California digital driver’s license and ID is coming to Apple Wallet.
The revelation comes from a dormant California Department of Transportation landing page on the official Apple Wallet Wikipedia page, first reported by MacRumors on Monday. California is listed as an “upcoming state” on Apple Wallet’s Wikipedia page. There’s a link to the page if you want to check it out for yourself, but it’s missing key assets like helper videos and images, suggesting it’s not ready for public release yet.
If you live in California, you can use the official DMV app to store your credentials, but once this feature is released, all you’ll need is Apple Wallet. It’ll be easier to multitask between your iPhone and Apple Watch when you need to present them, like through airport security lines or encrypted links to third parties. It’ll also make it less likely that you’ll forget your Apple Watch at a bar or grocery store.
When Apple introduced its digital ID cards in 2021, eight states were on board, but only three quickly followed suit. Now, five US states offer a built-in version of this handy feature. When the feature was announced in 2021, Arizona, Maryland, and Colorado were the first to be mentioned, but it wasn’t fully implemented until 2022. Georgia then joined the trend in 2023, and Ohio just logged in last week.
California’s rollout of digital licenses and IDs is good news for the rest of the country, but unfortunately, unless you’re one of the early adopter few with luxury cars that have ultra-wideband built in, you’ll still need to carry your car keys with you.
