Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias says he hopes to bring mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs to iPhones by the end of this year.

Giannoulias announced Monday his office has officially started working with Apple to allow users to access their driver’s licenses and state IDs digitally on their iPhone or Apple Watch. 

He said in a news release he expects to expand these features in the future for additional digital wallets, such as Google Wallet for Android users.

Lawmakers passed House Bill 4592 last spring, allowing the Secretary of State to issue mobile IDs and driver’s licenses. When it rolls out, Illinois will be the 11th state to adopt mobile IDs.

A mobile driver’s license and ID would not replace physical cards, however.

The cards would be issued “in addition to, and not instead of” a physical ID, under the law. The law allows agencies and private entities to choose if they want to accept electronic IDs in place of physical ones, but “upon request by law enforcement, a credential holder must provide the credential holder’s physical credential.”

The Secretary of State’s office has a sign-up page for Illinois residents to receive updates about the program – including when mobile IDs become available for iPhone users.

The move toward digital IDs is part of Giannoulias’ “commitment to modernizing the office,” according to his office.

(Article courtesy of Capitol News Illinois)