CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is now accepting West Virginia-issued mobile driver licenses (mDLs) at checkpoints with digital ID readers nationwide.
Travelers who have downloaded the West Virginia Mobile ID app to their smart phone can use that for identity verification during the screening process in lieu of handing over a physical photo ID and boarding pass to the TSA security officer at the entry to the checkpoints at West Virginia International Yeager Airport and Huntington Tri-State Airport and other airports nationwide.
West Virginia has made the mobile ID available to all state residents at no additional cost. First make sure that you have been issued a license, permit, or non-driver ID card by the state. Then just download the West Virginia mobile ID app to add it to your smartphone.
Travelers who want to take advantage of this new capability will find that their West Virginia mobile ID is a convenient option when going through the security process. Travelers should always carry an acceptable form of ID such as a card or passport.
West Virginia residents can use their TSA approved Digital ID for identity verification at dozens of airports where TSA has credential authentication technology units. These units are equipped with digital ID readers and a camera that captures a real-time photo of the traveler to match the face of the person with the face on their ID. After the TSA officer clears the person into the checkpoint, the photos are deleted.
The units are also able to verify that an individual is ticketed for air travel that day, so the traveler does not need to show a boarding pass to the TSA officer, although a boarding pass is needed to present to the airline gate agent.
West Virginia is now the 14th state that offers digital IDs with interoperability with TSA’s credential authentication technology. The other states offering mobile driver’s licenses are Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Utah. TSA digital ID readers also accept the Google ID Pass. TSA is activating additional digital ID readers at airports nationwide in the coming weeks.
TSA continues to integrate new technologies into its identity verification process. Read more about these programs at www.tsa.gov/digital-id.
