New Mexico joins states like and to support in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. New Mexico residents are still required by law to carry their physical IDs for police use and age verification, but at businesses and TSA checkpoints that have adopted the you'll be able to tap your smartphone instead of pulling out a card.
Digital licenses can now be added to Apple and Google apps by scanning the front and back of your physical ID, capturing a scan of your face, and submitting your digital application to be verified. Once added, digital IDs can be obtained and used in the same way you would pay with a digital payment card. Google has published a video on how to add your card to Google Wallet and Apple has a on how to add IDs to Apple Wallet, if you're looking for tips.
New Mexico Division of Motor Vehicles first “offer electronic credentials to customers at no additional cost” in January 2024. Implementing digital IDs remains a complex process, with the Currently, 12 states offer some form of digital ID, but only Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and New Mexico offer IDs for Google and Apple apps. To make things more confusing, some states like Ohio, Hawaii, and Iowa offer IDs for Apple Wallet but not the Google app.
Switching to a digital-only wallet is also not without potential risks. The American Civil Liberties Union <a target="_blank" data-i13n="elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:8;pos:1" class="link " href="https://www.aclu.org/news/privacy-technology/state-legislatures-need-to-block-creation-of-nightmarish-national-identity-system” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:has criticized states;elm:context_link;elmt:doNotAffiliate;cpos:8;pos:1;itc:0;sec:content-canvas”>'Rapid adoption of digital driver's licenses without implementing additional protections for cardholders. These include things like preventing issuers and ID verifiers from tracking the use of digital cards and preserving the right not to use a digital card for anyone who does not own or cannot afford a smartphone. Apple and Google's solutions offer privacy protections in terms of encrypting information and keeping your device locked even after you've presented your ID, but they don't fully take into account how state or federal governments might access these new digital systems.
