A new app is taking local driver’s licenses digital

Picture this: After an evening of binge watching your favorite Netflix show, you are craving something sweet. You grab your slippers, keys and a $5 bill and head out to get your favorite ice cream. You’re in such a rush to get there, you might be speeding just a little. Suddenly, you see blue lights in your rearview mirror and realize your driver’s license is sitting at home, forgotten in your craving-fueled frenzy out the door.

If this sounds like a nightmare, it might not have to be so bad. In July, the state released an app that stores a digital copy of users’ driver’s licenses, which is an acceptable form of identification by state and local police. The app, called LA Wallet, is the first of its kind. Louisiana is the first state in the country to offer anything like it.

The app is legal, thanks to Act 625, created by Baton Rouge Rep. Ted James. After hearing about app research the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles was doing, he jumped at the opportunity to pass the act.

“Anytime we have the opportunity to be first in something, I feel like we should do that for Louisiana,” he says.

LA Wallet is free to download in the app store on iOS and Android. After creating an account, users are prompted to generate a PIN number, fill out ID information and pay a $5.99 activation fee.

From there, the digital driver’s license will be valid for as long as the real thing is, and it functions like any other identification for traffic stops.

The legislation also ensured there were proper procedures in place for when police are dealing with the phones. Officers are prohibited from accessing any other apps or information on the phone when drivers hand them their devices. The app also cannot track a user’s location at any time.

James says many states have taken note of the success of the app, and he currently gets calls at least twice a week from legislators across the country wanting to do the same thing. He also hopes to expand the app’s functionality—right now, it’s valid only for traffic stops, but he’d like restaurants and airports to be able to use it to check IDs, too.

Regardless of where it goes from here, if it gets us to our late-night ice cream with a little more ease, then we’re sold. lawallet.com

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.