Virtual, digital driver's licenses in New Jersey might become available

Lost your wallet? Or forgot to grab your driver’s license? Soon that shouldn’t be a problem as a new virtual driver’s license, accessible through a digital app, might be available for New Jersey residents.

Unanimously, the Senate Transportation Committee voted Thursday to release a bill that would require the state Motor Vehicle Commision (MVC) to issue digital IDs and driver’s licenses, and the MVC may charge a fee for it.

The digital license would also be available on any other type of electronic device with internet capabilities, such as a tablet, the legislation says.

Digital driver’s licenses and IDs would be legitimate forms of identification admissible in court and by police officers.

Official digital documents aren’t new. Car insurance cards have been available in a digital form for a while now and, since March 2023, New Jersey has been offering a digital version of driver’s vehicle registration.

State Sens. Nellie Pou, D-Passaic, and Patrick Deignan, D-Middlesex, are the main sponsors for this bill.

The digital move is a trend pervasive across the U.S. as digital IDs are touted as more fraud-resistant than physical cards.

Even selected airports are already accepting digital IDs as an admissible form of identification to board a flight, TSA said in a statement.

If the bill passes, New Jersey would join 12 other states that already offer digital forms of identification while at least 17 other states, such as New York and Pennsylvania, are currently working toward the implementation of virtual IDs and driver’s licenses.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Is there digital driver's license in New Jersey?