The Department of Motor Vehicles is getting ready to offer something new. The commissioner says digital versions of driver’s licenses will be available later this year. You should know that your old license is not going anywhere, however.

Convenience may not be the first word you associate with the DMV, but Connecticut’s DMV has plans to make your driver’s license more convenient by putting it on your phone.

“It doesn’t mean you have to do it, but what it does is give everyone the option and it’s more of a convenience factor,” state DMV Commissioner Tony Guerrera explained.

This year, Connecticut plans to join more than a dozen other states offering digital driver’s licenses.

“It’s convenient that you just pull out your phone and you show it, wherever you may be,” Guerrera said. “Whether it’s at a package store, a restaurant, TSA, it’s nice to have that convenience rather than carrying a whole wallet.”

Connecticut had planned to offer a digital version five years ago, but decided to wait and see how other states handled it. While plenty of businesses and agencies will be accepting the digital ID, it does not mean you can stop carrying the physical card entirely, because if you ever get stopped by police, you still need to have a physical driver’s license.

“What it means is that the physical license should always be with you, whether you keep it in your car or whatever,” Guerrera said.

Some have raised privacy concerns about having personal details in digital form.

“It just scares me in some ways. I’m still a little old school,” Branford resident Maria Sanders said. “I do believe in phones and I use mine for a lot, but I’ve also had a lot of problems with people getting into my information.”

“It sounds okay to me. It’s another way to always keep it on you,” David Mallen of Waterbury said. “You’re always going to have your cellphone or your wallet on you. One or the other.”

The DMV Commissioner hopes to announce very soon exactly when digital licenses will be available.

Originally Posted By edgephoto:
Let's waste more money on some stupid thing nobody wants.

Originally Posted By Concentricity:


Yeeah, like renaming numerical exit numbers on the highways. What a frivolous expenditure.

Originally Posted By edgephoto:
Total waste of money but you can blame the feds for this. They are requiring all states to do this or their highway funds will be eliminated. We sure know how to waste money in this country.