ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaskans have a new option when it comes to verifying their identity — instead of pulling out a driver’s license, they can now show a mobile ID on their phone.
Lauren Whiteside, Division Operations Manager for the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles, said the new IDs, called mobile credentials, can help keep personal information secure because people can choose how much information they want to share given the circumstances.
“The idea behind mobile credentials is protection of your information,” Whiteside said. “So when you hand your driver’s license to someone, your physical driver’s license, you are handing over your photo, your address, your height, weight, all of those things that are personal information that maybe you don’t always need to share.
“For instance, when you go into a liquor store or a bar, if you want to buy a drink or a bottle of wine, all they need to know about you is that you are over the age of 21.”
The Alaska Mobile ID is an app created by the DMV. Information, including how to download it for free, is on the DMV’s website.
Whiteside said mobile IDs aren’t a substitute for a driver’s license. People will still need to carry a physical license, but the mobile version can work as a companion form of ID.
The movement to allow mobile IDs is happening nationally, several other states already offer them, including California, but Whiteside said nearly every state is in some stage of making some form of mobile IDs available.
Even so, there are not many places which have definitely said they will accept mobile IDs in Alaska, which Whiteside said is completely voluntary.
In answer to a written inquiry to Alaska State Troopers, Spokesperson Austin McDaniel wrote:
“The Alaska Department of Public Safety recognizes Alaska DMV issued digital identification cards and drivers licenses and Troopers may accept them as a valid form of identification during interactions with DPS Troopers and staff. It’s important to note that Alaska law still requires Alaskans to carry and produce a physical driver’s license.”
Anchorage police have taken a similar view.
“The Anchorage Police Department accepts Mobile ID as a valid form of identification,” APD Spokesperson Chris Barraza wrote in an email. ”All of our officers have the required verification apps installed on their department-issued cell phones and have received training from the DMV to properly recognize and accept Mobile ID in the field.”
Whiteside said the State of Alaska has applied to have Alaska mobile IDs accepted by TSA, at airport security screenings, and anticipated that would be approved in the latter part of 2025.
She said while the IDs are currently not accepted at big box stores like Costco, Target and Kroger, the expectation is that chains will eventually opt in nationally all at once.
Currently, Whiteside said, only about 1,200 Alaskans have applied and received mobile IDs. She said she expected that number to grow significantly once people learn more about them and when Alaskan mobile IDs become acceptable for use with the TSA.
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