Tech Alert

Overview

The California Department of Technology (CDT) is excited to announce that AccessCA (formerly California Identity Gateway) now supports the reading of California mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) through the Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) Wallet app. State entities using AccessCA can now accept and verify mDLs, which Californians can share directly from their mobile phone.

Purpose

Mobile driver’s licenses are becoming a preferred way for people to prove who they are. More than 4.2 million California residents have joined DMV’s mDL pilot program, where they can add their state-issued ID to the digital wallet on their phone.

AccessCA’s new mDL feature prepares state services to accept this growing technology, while empowering Californians with direct control over the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) shared.

AccessCA’s mDL Capabilities

As part of this release, state entities and Californians will benefit from:

• mDL Support in Digital Wallets: As digital wallets continue to grow in popularity, AccessCA will support the reading of mDLs from the CA DMV Wallet application.
  • Future expansion is planned for native device wallets (e.g. Apple, Google, and Samsung Wallet) and mobile passports.
• Built-in Privacy and Control: AccessCA’s mDL integration puts data ownership and control directly in the hands of Californians, sharing only the minimum data required for a specific service. Personal data is not stored; it is only used for real-time verification with the resident’s consent. AccessCA uses plain language to inform residents about the data being shared and how it will be used.
• Another Way to Verify Identity: mDLs provide an additional, highly accessible verification pathway, while continuing to drive statewide adoption by making digital credentials immediately useful for accessing government benefits and services.

Action Requested

The AccessCA program can help your agency modernize service delivery with digital identification and eligibility verification.

Existing AccessCA customers should review their enterprise architecture to align with the new mDL capability and request additional services through the CDT IT Services Portal.

For technical questions or to learn more about AccessCA, please visit the Digital ID Services page.