Question: I replaced my Hawaii driver’s license with the new design because the city said it had better security features, but I regret it. I should have kept my old license until it expired. Reason being that I can’t add the new license to my Apple Wallet like with my old license, which was good for a lot of things, including at the airport but also any place that accepts a digital ID. I miss having my license on my phone.

Answer: You are one of several readers “Kokua Line” has heard from, reporting or asking about trouble adding their new-design Hawaii driver’s license to their Apple Wallet. It turns out that Hawaii’s Mobile Driver’s License, referred to as mDL, “is only supported for Hawaii’s previous card design. If you have recently received a new Hawaii driver’s license or ID card featuring our new design, the mDL feature is not yet available for your card. We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work to improve our digital services,” said an email from Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services, which includes the Division of Motor Vehicles.

Technical updates needed to activate the new-design license in Apple Wallet could take up to six months, according to a spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office.

The new design, which has been issued since July on Hawaii’s federally compliant driver’s licenses and state IDs, features black and white photos of the cardholder against a pale rainbow background. The old design features color photos against a vibrant rainbow background. REAL IDs of the old design remain valid for the duration of the individual credential, unless the holder replaces their license or ID with the new design, as the reader regrets doing.

Government officials confirmed that the mDL isn’t supported for the new design, having previously confirmed that airport security scanners can’t read the physical cards of new-design driver licenses for people 21 and older and state IDs for people under 21 (see “Kokua Line,” 808ne.ws/4rWAqNX).

The Hawaii mDL for Apple Wallet has been available since 2024, when a state Department of Transportation guide said “adding your Hawai‘i driver’s license to your digital wallet allows for a more simplified way to verify your identity at TSA security checkpoints, at select businesses, or in select apps that require identity or age verification,” 808ne.ws/4iedGpi.

Don’t miss out on what’s happening!

Ryan Wilson, a spokesperson for Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, said it may take the city’s Department of Information Technology up to six months to complete technical work needed to support Hawaii’s new-design credentials in Apple Wallet, explaining the process:

DIT “is working on a statewide system and process that will allow the clerks at our City Department of Customer Services’ Division of Motor Vehicles and the other counties to manually process the new cards so they can be activated within Apple Wallet. That initial development and testing phase will last between two to three months. DIT is also simultaneously working to automate the activation process, so DMV clerks do not have to process the cards manually. That process may take an additional two to three months. Work is currently underway and the full process could take up to six months to complete.”

Readers said the city should have been more public about the functionality of the new cards, temporary as the limitations may be, to keep residents from wasting time on a fruitless task. One resident said he tried numerous times to load his new license into Apple Wallet — getting the error message “cannot verify identity” each time — and turned to the chatbot on the CSD website for guidance. It told him to contact Apple (which he already had) despite Apple saying online to contact the “issuing agency.”

We suggested he email CSD’s complaint office, which he did, receiving in response the notice that the new design is not available as a mobile driver’s license. By Friday, the CSD chatbot was disabled for questions about adding the new-design license to Apple Wallet, responding “cannot answer” to each one.

Mahalo

With all the rain my yard has gotten out of control and I appreciate the neighbors who check on me and help me mow and hedge. This is in Kailua. — Kupuna

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.