NC DMV Plans Statewide Mobile ID Rollout As Privacy Questions Remain

By Andrew Pomeranz
Carolina Journal

North Carolinians could begin carrying a digital version of their driver’s license or state identification card on their phones by the end of the year or early 2027.

The NC Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) plans to make the identification available statewide through a new NC Wallet application, DMV communications manager Marty Homan told Carolina Journal.

DMV has described the wallet as a platform that could eventually hold additional government-issued credentials and connect residents with other state services, expanding the significance of the privacy, security, and oversight questions beyond driver’s licenses alone.

The agency is targeting the end of 2026 or early 2027 for the rollout.

Despite their expected statewide availability by early 2027, law enforcement agencies are not expected to begin accepting mobile IDs until later that year, as DMV works with agencies to determine how officers will verify them.

The same process is underway with other businesses and organizations that need to verify a person’s identity or age, including Alcoholic Beverage Control-related businesses, bars, and restaurants.

How the mobile ID will work
The program will be optional and available at no additional cost to North Carolinians with a valid state driver’s license or identification card. Physical licenses and ID cards will remain available and valid for residents who do not want to use the digital version.

To obtain a mobile ID, users will download the North Carolina Wallet app, scan their physical license or identification card, and take a selfie. DMV will compare the submitted information with its records before issuing the digital credential directly to the device.

Once issued, the mobile ID will remain connected to DMV records and update automatically when information on a driver’s license changes. For example, DMV says adding a motorcycle or commercial driver’s license endorsement would automatically be reflected on the mobile credential.

Under state law, a mobile driver’s license is legally equivalent to a physical license. The General Assembly authorized DMV to issue mobile licenses in 2024, with that authority taking effect July 1, 2025.

Unlike simply displaying a driver’s license photograph on a phone, the mobile ID must be electronically verified by compatible technology.

Users can present information through a tap or QR code, and will be shown what information is being requested before deciding whether to share it. That allows users in some situations to provide only the information necessary for a transaction.

DMV, however, still recommends that residents carry their physical license or identification card as a backup, as businesses, law enforcement agencies, and other organizations gradually adopt technology that accepts mobile IDs.

Rollout raises broader concerns
As North Carolina moves toward digital identification, the rollout is raising broader questions about privacy, oversight, security, and the state’s readiness to expand the technology.

DMV says the mobile ID is designed so the agency cannot track when or where residents use it.

“NCDMV cannot see where or when you use your mobile ID,” Homan told Carolina Journal. “When you present your mobile ID, it does not ‘phone home’ to NCDMV or create a record for NCDMV showing where you used it.”

The agency also says users will be required to authenticate themselves through facial recognition, a fingerprint, or a device passcode before presenting the credential, meaning possession of a lost or stolen phone alone would not allow someone else to use the mobile ID.

Privacy and security were among the issues lawmakers identified when they authorized mobile licenses in 2024. The legislation directed the DMV to examine the security and confidentiality of driver information, as well as concerns from state and local law enforcement and potential constitutional issues.

Jeanette Doran, senior legal counsel at the John Locke Foundation, said DMV’s assurances about tracking highlight a distinction between protections built into the technology and protections guaranteed by law.

“NCDMV says it can’t see where or when you use your mobile ID, and I have no reason to doubt that’s the design intent,” Doran said. “But that’s a technical assurance from the vendor’s architecture, not a legal guarantee in statute.”

Doran said lawmakers should consider who will independently oversee the system and what protections would remain if its technology or practices change.

“Before North Carolinians trust their driver’s license to an app, the legislature should be asking who audits that system, what happens if the design changes, and what recourse citizens have if it doesn’t work as promised,” Doran said. “There’s a real difference between ‘the system is built not to log this’ and ‘it’s illegal for the system to log this, and someone checks.’”

Questions about oversight arise as the DMV moves ahead with a program that previously drew scrutiny of the agency’s preparedness.

An August 2025 performance audit found DMV was not operationally prepared to issue mobile licenses when its authority to do so took effect July 1, 2025. Agency planning documents at the time projected an 18- to 24-month implementation process and a full launch by Sept. 30, 2026, a timeline that they will not meet.

The audit also estimated that the program would cost between $750,000 and $1.4 million to implement, with an additional $275,000 to $600,000 annually for staffing and maintenance.