New Mexico has introduced digital driver’s licenses, allowing residents to carry and use virtual IDs via smartphones. While this development marks a significant step forward in digital identification, the full functionality of these licenses is still a work in progress.
A digital ID in New Mexico is currently more of a digital placeholder than a fully operational alternative to a physical driver’s license. For instance, while the digital version is available for use, it does not yet allow New Mexicans to breeze through airport security or serve as an accepted form of identification for purchasing age-restricted products like alcohol, cannabis, or tobacco.
Earlier this year, New Mexico lawmakers passed Senate Bill 88, joining a handful of states—including Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, and Ohio—in the move to create virtual IDs. California is still piloting the program. To obtain a digital ID in New Mexico, residents must upload photos of their physical driver’s license and submit a video and images of their face to the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department (MVD). While it only takes a few hours to complete the digital ID process, it may take several months before it can be used effectively.
At present, New Mexico does not support digital IDs for airport security, and it remains illegal to drive without a physical driver’s license. Furthermore, restaurants, liquor stores, and cannabis shops may need additional time to adopt the technology to accept digital IDs for age verification. Carol Wight, CEO of the New Mexico Restaurant Association, emphasized that businesses would need training to properly verify digital IDs, and it may take years before the system is widely accepted.
In the meantime, the state has developed the NM Verifier app, which businesses can use to scan digital IDs to verify age for purchasing restricted items. Despite these advancements, the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department has not yet provided data on how many digital IDs have been issued or how many businesses have adopted the verification technology.
While the federal TSA allows digital IDs at security checkpoints across the country, New Mexico airports, including Albuquerque’s Sunport and Lea County Regional Airport, have yet to implement the technology. The state’s recent announcement mentioned that these airports would introduce the digital ID option “in coming weeks,” but further details have not been provided.
As the program develops, it remains to be seen how quickly digital IDs will be embraced and fully integrated into daily life across the state.