Introduction

In the United States, each state operates as the primary authority for issuing legal forms of identification, namely through their Department of Motor Vehicles (DMVs). DMVs issue both driver’s licenses and non-driver identification cards, which double as voter IDs.

Identification issued by DMVs is accepted in most instances as valid proof of identity, which demonstrates the high trust we place in their process for reviewing, verifying, and authenticating residents’ identities. As the leading identity issuance body in the United States, we look to DMVs to lead the charge in innovation related to how physical proofs of identity, in which they excel, can be mirrored in the digital world.

As each State DMV operates independently from one another, there is a level of collaboration required to establish and follow best practices, including using global standards like ISO/IEC 18013-5 recommended by other federal agencies, following guidance from nonprofit organizations like the American Association of Motor Vehicles Administrators (AAMVA), understanding concerns from civil liberties organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and creating open-source solutions to allow for deeper innovation and expansion into new use cases.