Ind. Lawmaker Wants To Allow Digital Driver's Licenses

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 7:22 AM

By Mike Perleberg and Benjamin Yount, 24/7 News Source

If a bill becomes law, an Indiana driver's licenses on your smartphone could soon be accepted.

(Indianapolis, Ind.) - A phone could soon be as good as a wallet in Indiana.

State Senator Eddie Melton (D-Gary) is pushing Senate Bill 182 at the Statehouse. It would move the state toward digital driver's licenses.

Melton wants to allow the BMV to create an app that would store a copy of your license or state ID card.

“Mobile drivers’ licenses are not only more convenient for Hoosiers; but as we move into a forever growing digital age, we must utilize all the tools that are available to us,” said Melton.

“The ability to have access to your driver’s license through your cell phone is beneficial to Hoosiers because information can be updated in real time, which provides an accurate and timely release of information that would take weeks to be updated if you had to wait for a plastic license to arrive in the mail.”

He adds the idea is not to replace standard driver's licenses, but rather to give people another choice.

Melton said 77 percent of American adults own a smartphone. More than a dozen other states allow digital drivers licenses.