Digital driving licences stored in a government smartphone “wallet” that can be used to prove a person’s age are to be made available this year.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said “nothing is off the table” in terms of what digital versions of Government-issued documents could be stored in the new Gov.uk app.
The app for Government services will be launched by June and will include a digital wallet to store documents, beginning with a veteran card and then a pilot of driving licences by the end of the year.
We’re putting 3 new government tools in your pocket.
📲GOV.UK App will make services like applying for childcare easier to access🆔GOV.UK Wallet will give the option to have documents, like your driver's licence, on your phone💬GOV.UK Chat will help you find guidance faster pic.twitter.com/rGJozwStZA
— Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (@SciTechgovuk) January 21, 2025
“You will be able to prove and verify your age digitally using the digital driving licence. And this is going to be absolutely liberating,” Mr Kyle said at a launch event at the Government Digital Service in Whitechapel.
“In person, you can generate a code where you can hold up and prove you are who you say you are, and you are the age you say you are without having to reveal your name or your address,” he added.
And online, he demonstrated how the digital ID could be used to buy age-restricted items such as fireworks online.
The app also aims to join up services so people can pay their car tax and receive their child benefit in the same place.
The wallet will make use of security features already built into modern smartphones, including facial recognition – similar to how people use such tools to pay for things using a digital bank card on their phone.
Physical documents will remain available and there are no plans to make the digital versions compulsory, Mr Kyle said.
DBS checks and marriage certificates are among the credentials the Government hopes to have available inside the wallet by the end of 2027.
He said it was possible that it could be used for people to store and display their immigration status in future.
He added: “In terms of the immigration system, we’re not hiding or reluctant to talk about any of these issues because the Prime Minister himself asked every Government department to write to him by Christmas with ideas of where digital transformation can happen with every Government department.
“I’m looking very closely with the Home Office, we don’t have a current work plan to get the digital wallet specifically for asylum processes, because every asylum seeker currently has to give biometric data and thumbprints and so forth and carry a card when they’re here. But we’re just in the foothills of this.”
He said every Government department is exploring how to use it and “So nothing is off the table when we have these conversations”, he said.
Getting a fine through the post or waiting for a doctor’s appointment are “alien” concepts to young people – who have never known life without a smartphone, he said.
Mr Kyle said earlier: “Along with CDs, the Walkman and flip phones, the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the Government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history.
“Gov.UK Wallet will mean that every letter or identity document you receive from the government could be issued to you virtually.
“For people who choose to use Gov.UK Wallet, they will find it easier to prove they’re entitled to benefits or check their age when buying alcohol or DIY equipment, with more security and trust than ever before.
“Crucially, it also opens huge opportunities to make interacting with public services much easier by putting people in control of their own data.
“We will be overhauling how the public sector uses technology which is essential to delivering our Plan for Change, and in combination with this new tech for people to use themselves, we are going to slash the time people waste dealing with annoying processes so they can focus on what matters to them.”
Today we've published a blueprint for modern digital government.
A long-term vision for digital public services, a 6-point plan for reform, and the role of the expanded Government Digital Service – the new digital centre of government.
— Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (@SciTechgovuk) January 21, 2025
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This is a game changer for the millions of people who use their driving licence as ID.
“The innovation puts power back in the hands of the people, making everyday interactions faster, easier, and more secure. We are delivering on the Plan for Change by making public services work for everyone.”
The digital update comes alongside plans announced to make £45 billion in efficiency savings by using digital tools and data to upgrade public services, including introducing AI tools to the Civil Service to speed up work in Whitehall.
