Governor JB Pritzker on Friday signed legislation allowing mobile driver’s licenses and state IDs in Illinois.
But residents hoping to show ID without having to open their wallet and pull out their ID will have to wait several months. The legislation, which is part of Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulia’s office-wide modernization drive, will not take effect until January 1, 2025.
With mobile IDs and driver’s licenses, residents will get to decide what personal information they want to share through a contactless encrypted data exchange between their device and the reader, officials said. Such IDs will be able to be used in cases such as buying alcohol, cannabis or renting a car while hiding other personal information – such as their address.
Additionally, a person showing their mobile driver’s license or ID would not constitute consent to have the device searched, according to a notice from Illinois Sen. Michael E. Hastings who helped champion the law. Twelve states already offer mobile forms of identification, while at least 18 other states are currently working toward implementation, state officials said.
Some groups, including the ACLU, previously expressed concern over the use of mobile identification documents, citing concerns that law enforcement could search a person’s phone without proper consent. The Illinois measure expressly prohibits law enforcement officers from searching the phone’s contents after seeing the mobile ID card, according to the legislation.
According to officials with the TSA, the agency accepts mobile identification at airportsbut still encourages flyers to carry physical ID cards as well.
As for REAL ID-compatible cards, mobile ID can also be used in these situations, but again, officials encourage residents to bring physical copies of their ID in case of problems.