Florida had previously authorized the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to develop a mobile driver’s license and identification card and it had done so. House Bill 1313 now requires the implementation of these electronic credentials. The technology behind these mobile IDs is robust. In other states with similar implementations, the individual must download an app issued by the vendor contracting with the Department from the Apple App Store or from the Google Play Store that resides on their phone.

FL House Bill 1313

Legislation

State: Florida
Signed: June 29, 2021

Effective: July 01, 2021
Chapter: 2021-235

Summary
House Bill 1313 requires the implementation of so-called mobile driver’s licenses and mobile identification cards.

Affects
Amends Sections 322.032, 332.14, and 322.15 and reenacts Section 322.121 of the Florida Statutes.

Changes

1. Defines “digital proof of driver license” and “digital proof of identification card” as an electronic credential viewable on an electronic credentialing system.
2. Defines “electronic credentialing system” as a computer system accessed using a computer, a cellular telephone, or any other personal device which queries the department’s driver license and identification card records, displays or transmits digital proofs of driver licenses and identification cards, and verifies the authenticity of those electronic credentials.
3. Requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to establish a secure and uniform system for issuing an optional digital proof of driver license or identification card.
4. Prohibits an electronic credentialing system from retaining Internet protocol addresses, geolocation data, or other information that describes the location, computer, computer system, or computer network from which a customer accesses the system.
5. Requires the digital proof of drivers license and digital proof of identification card to be in such a format as to allow verification of the authenticity of the digital proof of driver license or identification card.
6. The department may adopt rules to ensure valid authentication of digital driver licenses and identification cards.
7. Provides that a digital proof of driver license and digital proof of identification card may comprise a limited profile that includes only information necessary to conduct a specific transaction on the electronic credentialing system.
8. Requires the electronic credentialing system to display or transmit current records for the driver license or identification card.

Analysis

Florida had previously authorized the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to develop a mobile driver’s license and identification card and it had done so. House Bill 1313 now requires the implementation of these electronic credentials. The technology behind these mobile IDs is robust. In other states with similar implementations, the individual must download an app issued by the vendor contracting with the Department from the Apple App Store or from the Google Play Store that resides on their phone. The driver’s license or ID may only appear in the app and may not simply be a picture of the front and back of the ID stored on the phone. When viewed through the app, the license status and information is current. The owner may determine how much information from the ID to share with a verifier (TSA at an airport, a bouncer at a bar, or a Notary Public for a notarial act). Because the app is issued by the Department, a relying party can have confidence that the driver license or identification card viewed through the app is genuine. These implementations of mobile driver’s licenses and IDs hold out great promise for potentially reducing the problem of forgery and imposture related to notarial acts.

 

Read House Bill 1313.