Maryland is testing digital driver’s licenses

Maryland is testing a digital driver’s license that allows for some extra privacy.

In a statement issued Thursday, the Maryland Department of Transportation said the state is working with Belcamp-based Gemalto on the technology. That company is also behind the state’s physical driver’s licenses.

The driver’s license would be app-based, and have the same presentation as a card. They would act as a “companion” to physical driver’s licenses. It would “only display what information is required for the end user, without showing all the personal information that is located on the physical license,” the statement said. It also provides a way to verifiy info with state data.

“We are proud to be on the leading edge of testing technology that will deliver the driver’s license of the future,” Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn said in a statement. “This innovative technology will increase customer convenience and enhance safeguards to our already secure driver’s licenses.”

It’ll still be a while before that future is here, as the two-year pilot program just began this week. It’s being conducted by volunteers with institutions and businesses. It’s being funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Gemalto also has funding to test the app in Idaho, Washington and Colorado. Delaware also tested the technology.