Oklahoma Could Change To Digital Driver's Licenses

Soon Oklahomans could be saying goodbye to plastic drivers licenses and hello to a digital copy.

Friday, March 1st 2019, 11:44 am

By: Ashley Holden

Oklahoma Could Change To Digital Driver's Licenses

Soon Oklahomans could be saying goodbye to plastic drivers licenses and hello to a digital copy.

Governor Kevin Stitt's administration is working on the big change that could start in just a few months.

Secretary of Digital Transformation and Administration David Ostrowe said testing on this new tool should start in May.

Ostrowe says people will use their plastic license and a picture to enroll on a state branded app, so plastic wouldn't be totally kicked to the curb.

"You will then upload it into an app that will compare your photo to your real life facial recognition to the photo data base," said Ostrowe.

The Secretary says eventually police could even be using it to issue tickets that would only require mobile interaction. Ostrowe also said people should be able to better limit the information that they exchange. For example, he said a bouncer would only see the crucial information needed, a person's age, to enter a bar.

Ostrowe says the vendor they are working with, Idemia, has helped other states, like Iowa, to develop this idea. The Secretary told News 9 he has no problem piggybacking off of Iowa's developments.

"Why don't we just jump on some of the stuff you've already done and provide this to our citizens faster," said Ostrowe.

Iowa tested a pilot program in 2015 and into 2016. The Director of the Iowa Department of Transportation Mark Lowe said the state's pilot program went as expected.

Lowe said they worked with national and local law enforcement to make sure the digital licenses would work the way officers need them to.

Now as IDOT nears a time they could actually launch the digital tool for public use, Lowe wants other states to join in the digital push.

"We are going to see people moving across the the country with credentials like this that we're going to interact with it more and more," said Lowe.

Iowa officials are hoping to unveil the tool later this year, but so is Ostrowe.

He told News 9 they are planning on a pilot program starting in May with around 1,000 people. Then the Secretary is hoping to roll out the new licenses in October.

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