Google Wallet will support California IDs in the coming weeks

TL;DR

• California residents will soon be able to save their state IDs and driver’s licenses in Google Wallet.
• The digital IDs will be accepted at select businesses and TSA checkpoints at three airports.
• The IDs will streamline identity and age verification, but residents will still have to carry their physical IDs.

Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced that California residents will be able to add their state ID and driver’s licenses to Google Wallet and Apple Wallet in the coming weeks. At launch, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints at the Los Angeles International, San Francisco International, and San Jose Mineta airports will accept the saved licenses, and a few businesses in downtown Los Angeles and Sacramento will recognize the digital state IDs for age verification.

We’re partnering with two iconic California companies – Apple and Google – to provide convenient, private and secure driver’s licenses and ID cards directly on people’s phones. This is a big step in our efforts to better serve all Californians, meeting people where they’re at and with technology people use every day. – Gov. Gavin Newsom

Annoyingly, even if you store your digital IDs in Google Wallet or Apple Wallet, you will still be required to carry the physical IDs. The announcement clearly states that offering an ID in Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, or mDL in the California DMV Wallet app “does not replace the requirement for individuals to carry a physical card.”