iPhone Driver's License Support Rolling Out Soon in California

by

California will soon start rolling out support for digital driver's licenses and IDs in the Apple Wallet app on iPhone and Apple Watch, becoming the sixth state to implement the feature.

apple california drivers license
Wallet app integration is part of California's mobile driver's license effort, which kicked off a year ago. More than 500,000 people have already added a driver's license or ID to the California DMV Wallet app, where California tested the option before rolling it out to the Wallet app.

"We're excited to be working with the state of California to bring IDs in Apple Wallet to Apple's home state soon, and provide residents with an easy, secure, and private way to present their California driver's license and state ID in person and in app using Apple Wallet," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "Whether using IDs in Apple Wallet to breeze through travel, or to securely verify age or identity at businesses, California driver's licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet make ID presentment seamless -- all with the security built into iPhone and Apple Watch."

IDs and licenses stored in the Wallet app on ‌iPhone‌ or iPad can be used for TSA screenings at select airports and for age verification at select stores. Right now, California's mobile wallet support is still in a pilot stage, and only 1.5 million participants are able to sign up.

California requires people to continue to carry a physical license or ID card because the digital license is not accepted by law enforcement, state government agencies, and most businesses.

Evidence that Apple Wallet integration was coming to California first surfaced earlier in August when a hidden landing page on the DMV website was discovered, but California and Apple are officially announcing the feature today.

Apple announced a new Wallet app that supported digital IDs back in 2022, but states have been slow to adopt the feature. So far, only Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio have implemented support. Apple said in 2022 that Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Utah are also working on support.

Tags: Apple Wallet, California

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Read Full Article
iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Read Full Article • 57 comments
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
Read Full Article • 155 comments
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
M6 MacBook Pro Feature 1

M6 MacBook Pro: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Monday October 27, 2025 9:15 am PDT by
Apple this month refreshed the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with its new M5 chip, and higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips are expected to follow in early 2026. However, these machines will represent the final update to the current design, with Apple reportedly developing a completely new version of the MacBook Pro packed with next-generation hardware...
Read Full Article • 146 comments
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Read Full Article • 109 comments
macos tahoe

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for macOS Tahoe 26.1

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:21 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of macOS Tahoe 26.1, which means the update will likely see a public launch next week. The release candidate includes notes on what's in the update, so we have a full picture of the new features that Apple has included. macOS Tahoe 26.1 adds AutoMix support over AirPlay, improved FaceTime audio...
Read Full Article • 64 comments
iPhone Car Key Kia

Another Vehicle Brand Gaining iPhone Car Keys Support

Tuesday October 28, 2025 5:27 am PDT by
Apple is preparing to bring support for its digital car key feature to Jetour vehicles, according to evidence uncovered on Apple's backend by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. Introduced in 2022, Car Keys allows an iPhone or Apple Watch to unlock a vehicle through the Wallet app. A digital version of a car key is stored in Wallet, and unlocking can be done by holding an Apple Watch or...
Read Full Article • 15 comments
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Read Full Article • 64 comments

Top Rated Comments

Martin Bland Avatar
Martin Bland
16 months ago
Being able to leave the house with nothing but an Apple Watch and a car fob is a dream come true.

Next allow starting a car with a watch instead of a fob or phone…
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Supercyborgninja Avatar
Supercyborgninja
16 months ago
if it were tap to phone where the police get the wallet on their device and you don’t have to give your device to them..that’d be cool.

Giving your entire phone to a cop seems like moving backwards not forwards.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nekronos Avatar
Nekronos
16 months ago
Neat concept, unfortunately even in the few states this exists, it's not widely accepted.

Being able to leave the house with nothing but an Apple Watch and a car fob is a dream come true.

Next allow starting a car with a watch instead of a fob or phone…
Only TSA is going to take it so you still need the physical license for everything else (i.e. driving, going to a bar or buying liquor, and basically any govt agency aside from TSA)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rymc02 Avatar
rymc02
16 months ago

Neat concept, unfortunately even in the few states this exists, it's not widely accepted.

Only TSA is going to take it so you still need the physical license for everything else (i.e. driving, going to a bar or buying liquor, and basically any govt agency aside from TSA)
By the time this becomes widely accepted, TSA probably wont even need any ID. I just came back to the states using Global Entry. That was crazy. I didn't have to get any ID out at all. I walked up to a kiosk that captured my face on a video screen as I walked up. Processed for a like a second and then told me to proceed. I walked over to an agent and he already knew my name, asked me if I had anything to declare, then told me to have a nice day. Wild. Not even 20 seconds for the whole process and never had to take my bag off my shoulder.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GrayFlannel Avatar
GrayFlannel
16 months ago
Continue to carry your physical driver’s license or state-issued ID card. Law enforcement, state government agencies, and businesses aren’t yet accepting the mDL.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Makosuke Avatar
Makosuke
16 months ago
Finally. How was California of all states not first on the list for this?

Even if we’re a long way from being able to just carry your phone and leave the plastic card at home, that day isn’t ever getting here without states supporting the base technology.

Apple Pay only worked in a handful of stores when it first launched, now I’m so used to paying with my watch that it’s surprising when I need to dig out a physical card.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments