DMV to Host Community Hackathons to Facilitate Additional Uses for mobile Driver’s License

Contact: Office of Public Affairs
2415 First Avenue
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 657–6437 | dmvpublicaffairs@dmv.ca.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2024

Sacramento – The California Department of Motor Vehicles invites businesses, public agencies and innovators to apply to join two community “hackathons” to promote additional uses for the California mobile Driver’s License (CA mDL). Innovators interested in adding a secure and privacy-protecting digital identity into their customer experience are encouraged to apply to attend these events this fall:

Private sector hackathon: October 1, Computer History Museum, Mountain View
Public sector hackathon: November 1, Sacramento (venue TBD)

Private sector organizations that can benefit from leveraging mDLs as a secure, privacy-preserving and cost-effective identity verification tool – such as the financial services, retail, entertainment, travel and healthcare industries – are encouraged to form teams and apply for the October event by August 9.

For the teams chosen to participate, the DMV and its CA mDL partners will provide a suite of tools and technical support in the month leading up to the hackathon. This will allow for use case demonstrations at the event and presentation to a panel of judges.

More information about the government-focused event and how to apply is available on the DMV website. The DMV will hold a public briefing in mid-September to share more information about the public sector program.

The DMV is partnering with the OpenID Foundation to offer the day-long hackathons.

About mDL: The CA DMV Wallet/mDL is a voluntary pilot program, limited to 1.5 million participants. The mDL offers a quick and secure identity-check at select airports without handing over your phone or your driver’s license. The mDL does not replace a physical driver’s license or state-issued identification card but gives Californians another convenient option for identity verification and more control over how they share their information. Pilot participants still must carry their physical card, though acceptance and uses of the mDL will continue to evolve.

Join the more than 500,000 Californians to download the CA DMV Wallet app and create a mDL. To get started, access or create your “MyDMV” account at dmv.ca.gov/mdl, have your valid California driver’s license or identification card handy, and use the camera on your smartphone for authentication. Download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

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