Bowling Green State University (BGSU) has become the nation’s first university to accept mobile driver’s licenses for age verification. Merchants at the university’s athletic events can now verify the age and photo of patrons purchasing alcohol via a state-issued mobile driver’s licenses.

Ohio is one of the first states to allow residents to add their driver’s license and state IDs to Apple Wallet. The cards are stored digitally and presented via the phone.

Privacy by design

Mobile driver’s licenses – often called mDLs – are designed to only release information necessary to complete a specific transaction. In the case of alcohol purchases, for example, only the photo and age are shown to the merchant. The transaction does require the user’s name, address, date of birth, or other details shown on a physical license, so that data is not released.

When a student provides a physical license to verify age at a bar, his or her name and address are freely available to staff. This can result in dangerous situations.

This architecture was designed to protect user privacy and increase safety.

Here is an example. When a student provides a physical license to verify age at a bar, his or her name and address are freely available to staff. This can result in dangerous situations. The mDL alleviates this risk as only the image and age are presented.

The International Standards Organization established standards for mDLs in its ISO18013-5 document. This enables all states and countries adhering the standard to be interoperable with one and other.

Because of this, students and visitors from other states that issue mobile driver’s licenses –Arizona, Maryland, Georgia, Colorado, Hawaii, California, Iowa, New York and Utah – can also use their digital IDs at BGSU events.

Using the mDL at athletic events

At the merchant location, users hold their iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader to process the NFC transaction. The reader – provided by Credence ID – displays the specific information required for the transaction for the user’s approval. The user can opt to approve the release of the information using Face ID or Touch ID. The entire transaction occurs without the need to physically hand the phone to the merchant.

"BGSU Athletics is continuously looking for innovative ways to implement new technologies that enhance our fan experience,” says Derek van der Merwe, BGSU Director of Athletics. “We are excited to introduce this cutting-edge technology … to reduce wait times and get our fans back to the game."

The Ohio mDL can also be used at select TSA check lanes as well as businesses with compatible mobile ID readers or apps requiring identity verification.