Maryland Mobile ID for Business
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Maryland Mobile ID offers businesses a secure and convenient way to validate customer age and identity. This digital driver's license/ID, available on both Apple and Google devices, provides a reliable alternative to physical cards, streamlining verification processes and improving customer privacy and experience.
Are you ready to accept Maryland Mobile ID?
As Maryland Mobile ID adoption continues to grow, there's a lot to consider to make sure your business is ready to accept digital IDs. Review the information below to see if
Maryland Mobile ID is right for you and what you need to do to prepare.
Business Needs and Available Resources
How do you review identity today?
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What systems or tools do you use now?
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What IT engagement may be needed to support Maryland Mobile ID?
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If you currently verify an ID by scanning the 2D barcode or visually inspecting the physical card, please note these methods will not work with
Maryland Mobile ID.
Maryland Mobile ID uses a secure QR code or NFC 'tap' to share an ID.
| Equipment to verify could include: - Smartphones
- Tablets
- Point of sale systems
| You can:
- Push a mobile ID verification app to current equipment
- Integrate a verify system into your established app, point of sale, or online store.
- Build your own verification app, point of sale system or online store.
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Verification Options
Choose whether partnering with a verification vendor application or building a verification system will work best for your business needs. The verification system you choose must be ISO 18013-5 compliant and have
Maryland’s public key. ISO standards can be found on the ISO website and searching for “18013-5.”
With most verification tools, you should be able to customize the information you want to request from your customer so you only ask for the information you need for the transaction.
Option 1 - Verify App
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Option 2 - Application Program Interface (API)
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A 'Verify App' allows you to use a device such as a smartphone or tablet to scan the Mobile ID user’s QR code or NFC to verify their age/identity and be assured that they are presenting a stat-signed Mobile ID. There are multiple verify apps available on Apple and Google, so you can choose the one that works best for your organization.
| An API can be integrated into an existing point-of-sale system or other verification system. Your online systems can be configured to accept Maryland Mobile ID to log into secure websites. If you’ve been used to verifying an ID by scanning the 2D barcode or visually inspecting the physical card, please note these methods will not work with
Maryland Mobile ID. |
PLEASE NOTE: The State of Maryland does not provide a verification app or an API at this time. The Maryland MVA has developed a verification app and is in the process of publishing it for public use.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Maryland Mobile ID system will verify it is the individual – and only that person – because our system will read embedded security details in the individual's physical license or ID. We'll ensure the individual's personal information matches our records and use facial recognition technology to make sure their selfie matches the picture in our records.
The adoption of mobile ID is on the rise. A recommended international standard (ISO 18013-5) for mobile IDs was developed in an effort to provide a seamless experience between states or countries. Maryland has followed that standard. For users from other states to use their mobile ID in Maryland, their mobile ID would need to follow that same standard and you would need to have that user's state certificate information built into your verification system.
As you may not know if the customer's mobile ID uses the same standard, you can quickly scan their mobile ID to see if it works. If it does not work, you can revert back to your current ID verification process.
Maryland MVA uses the recommended international standard for mobile IDs (ISO 18013-5*) to securely place the ID onto the phone. A verification system would also need to follow this standard to be able to scan and read Maryland Mobile ID.
Reading a Mobile ID uses a combination of private and public keys. The MVA has a private key and uses it to electronically sign Mobile ID data for a user and ensures it is provisioned to the proper device of the proper user. Everything from the user's name to the portrait image to age is signed and can be verified by any capable Mobile ID reader/verification system.
An ID-verifier must obtain the corresponding signed public key* (also called state certificates) to verify the signature on any data obtained from a mobile ID.
It is recommended that an ID-verifier only request the data needed for the business transaction. To check an ID, the Mobile ID user initiates the exchange of information by displaying their Mobile ID QR code or NFC to be scanned by the ID-verifier's reader. Upon scanning, the two devices securely connect via a Bluetooth connection. The Mobile ID will then display a screen prompt where the Mobile ID user can consent to release the requested data. The two devices then exchange the signed driver license data via this connection. Once the data is obtained, the reader verifies the signature on the individual data elements using the public key. This ensures the data is genuine and unchanged.
When reviewing the information obtained from the Mobile ID that is displayed on their reader, including the verified portrait, the ID-verifier should confirm that the Mobile ID user in front of them is the person in that verified portrait.
*ISO standards can be found by visiting the ISO website and searching for “18013-5." To gain Maryland's public key, click here.
There are a lot of benefits for both using and accepting Maryland Mobile ID. Maryland Mobile ID is optional for citizens to use, and businesses are not required to accept it.
The Maryland MVA will still provide both physical and mobile ID/driver's license options for the foreseeable future. The goal is not to replace physical driver's licenses and IDs, but to encourage adoption of this emerging technology.
Maryland Mobile ID is not a replacement of the physical card, and users must continue to carry their physical driver's license/ID card. Various entities, including law enforcement, are not yet accepting Maryland Mobile ID.
This technology is new, so the Maryland MVA will continually work with entities that frequently use driver's licenses/ID cards to familiarize them with Maryland Mobile ID and its uses. Over time, we expect mobile ID acceptance to grow.
