Digital Driving Licences to be available on Smart Phones by 2018

From 2018, motorists could be allowed to have a digital version of their driving licence accessible by their smartphones. According to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), a test system would be in place by September this year and would develop a “quick, easy and secure” service between April and March 2018. But it hasn’t been the first mention of a digital driving licence. Back in May 2016, DVLA CEO Oliver Morley, tweeted a photo of the prototype for a digital licence.

So here's a little prototype of something we're working on #drivinglicence pic.twitter.com/a5eItrdiNI

— Oliver Morley (@omorley1) May 13, 2016  

The tweet showed an iPhone screen displaying an image of a licence in the Apple Pay app, which currently allows users to make payments and store boarding passes on their phones in a virtual wallet. The DVLA’s main aim is to provide a digital service that allows people to validate and share their personal information with “trusted” third parties. However, this digital form of identification will not replace the existing plastic licences, so there's no need to fear if you haven’t got a smartphone.

“The digital licence service will only be available to driving licence holders who have authenticated themselves on gov.uk through the existing driving licence service.” - Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency

The service is still currently being developed and the DVLA are hoping the product is ready to undergo extensive testing by September. Further details on what the service will look like and how it works will be released soon. What do you think? Is it one less thing to worry about grabbing before you go out of the door or an extra online privacy concern? Let us know.