UK set to introduce digital driving license

Digital driving licenses are to be introduced in the UK as the government looks to use technology to “transform public services”.

They will be accessed on a new government smartphone app and can be accepted as ID when buying alcohol, voting or boarding domestic flights.

According to The Times, physical licenses will still be issued, but ministers believe a voluntary digital option will “pull the government into 2020”.

A government spokesperson told BBC News: “This government is committed to using technology to make people’s lives easier and transform public services.

“Technology now makes it possible to make digital identities more secure than physical identities, but we are clear that they will not be made mandatory.”

Virtual licenses can be used at supermarket self checkouts, The Times said, Allowing customers to verify their age without waiting for a member of staff.

The new digital licenses will be introduced later this year, the newspaper reported.

One potential feature could allow users to hide their address in certain situations, such as bars or stores.

There will be more than 50 million driving license holders in the UK in 2023, according to Government data.

The digital license is likely to be launched as part of a “wallet” within a new government app called Gov.uk.

The wallet is understood to be as secure as many banking apps, and will only allow the actual owner of the license to access it.

It will use features found on many smartphones, such as biometrics and multifactor authentication, such as security codes.

The government is said to be considering integrating other services such as tax payments and benefit claims into the app.

Other forms of identification, such as National Insurance numbers, could also be added – but it is unlikely that physical identification will be replaced entirely.

The new technology appears to have stopped short of becoming a widespread digital ID card. First called by Sir Tony Blair and Lord William Hague.

At the time, the head of privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch said that such a move would be “one of the biggest attacks on privacy ever seen in the UK”.

In 2016, the then boss of the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said Digital licenses were being developed.

Virtual licenses are already in use in Australia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway, as well as some US states.

In the European Union, each member state is required to introduce at least one type of digital ID by 2026.