RICHMOND — The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles launched an app that allows Virginians to carry a valid state driver’s license or identification card on their phone.
The Virginia Mobile ID app, available on both the App Store and Google Play, can be used at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, DMV customer service centers, and select Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority stores, according to a press release. It is also accepted by law enforcement,
The six Virginia airports that accept the Mobile ID are Reagan Washington National, Washington-Dulles, Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News/Williamsburg and Roanoke.
In the Hampton Roads area, the New Kent County Sheriff’s Office, Portsmouth Police Department and Virginia Beach Police Department accept the Mobile ID, according to the DMV’s website. Afterglow Brewing at 2330 Bowdens Ferry Road in Norfolk also accepts the app.
The app is meant to be convenient for state residents, but also secure, according to the press release.
“Most of us rely heavily on our phones, which is why Virginians should have access to a safe, secure form of mobile identification on the devices they use all the time,” stated Secretary of Transportation W. Sheppard Miller III in a release.
The app functions similarly to Apple Pay, according to Gerald F. Lackey, DMV commissioner. A person can either tap their phone or pull up a scannable QR code that will connect them to another device.
“If they’re scanning it, all that scanner is doing is creating a unique connection between your phone and the device just like tap to pay works,” Lackey said.
Businesses can download the VA Mobile ID Verifier app to scan the Mobile ID on a customer’s phone to verify their age and identity, according to Lackey.
Mobile ID users have the ability to choose what information to share, allowing users to feel safe while showing ID, according to the release. They have the option to leave out certain information such as their address and name while verifying their age.
Lackey expects the app to gain traction across the nation.
“There’s a lot of interest in this across the country right now,” Lackey said. “There are 20 different states that have this and we expect there to be about 175 million Americans, out of roughly 350, so about half of us by 2030, to have a mobile ID.”
Companies are furthering the concept of a mobile ID, according to Lackey. They are working on a way for a card and ID to be run at the same time. One tap allows customers to pay and have their age verified.
“So, you can imagine if you’re at a baseball game and you’re buying a beer, you just tap, you pay for the beer and you get your ID verified at the same time,” Lackey said.
The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press contributed to this article.
Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Communication. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
https://www.dailypress.com/2025/12/05/virginia-dmv-mobile-id/
