It's only the second state to support the digital ID function, which is still in its early stages of implementation.
Maryland residents can now link their state ID or driver's license to Apple Wallet on iPhone and Apple Watch. Users will be able to authenticate their identification digitally, albeit the Maryland Mobile ID program currently has limited use cases.
IDs in Wallet are now only useful at a few Transportation Security Administration checkpoints at US airports. When a TSA agent requests identification, you'll be able to study the information and then tap your phone or smartwatch against a reader.
Apple claims the feature was created with security and privacy in mind, in part because you won't have to show your physical ID. To authorize a verification, you'll need to use Face ID or Touch ID, and your device will only share the necessary information from your stored identification.
As of now, according to MacRumors, law enforcement will not accept driver's licenses or other forms of identification given in Wallet. Residents won't be able to rely only on Maryland Mobile ID, according to the state's Motor Vehicle Administration, and will still need to carry their real license or ID card. Any business, government body, or law enforcement agency in Maryland will eventually be able to authenticate someone's identify using IDs kept in Wallet, according to the agency.
Maryland is only the second state to make the function available. In March, Arizona became the first state to do so. Georgia, Colorado, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio, Puerto Rico, Connecticut, and Utah are among the states and territories that have vowed to support the technology.
The iPhone 8 and Apple Watch Series 4 are the first devices to allow digital IDs in Wallet, and they both require iOS 15.4 or watchOS 8.4 to work. If you're qualified, press the plus sign in the Wallet app and follow the prompts to add an ID.
Apple had planned to add driver's license functionality to Wallet in 2021, however the company announced in December that it would have to postpone the feature until 2022. In March, Arizona became the first state in Wallet to support driver's licenses and state identification cards.
Maryland drivers can now use the feature, however there are certain restrictions. Apple Wallet users can show their digital IDs at "select TSA checkpoints," according to the state's Motor Vehicle Administration(Opens in a new window), but travellers must still have their physical licenses on hand.
"Maryland Mobile ID is optional and acts as a companion to your physical plastic Driver's License/Identification Card – it is not a replacement for the actual card," according to the MVA. "You must continue to carry your physical Driver's License/Identification Card with you."
Maryland sees Apple Wallet driver's licenses as a supplement to, rather than a replacement for, regular driver's licenses in a number of ways. Law enforcement officers will not recognize these digital IDs as genuine forms of identification, according to the MVA.
