Question: I replaced my Hawaii driver\u2019s 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
Answer: You are one of several readers \u201cKokua Line\u201d has heard from, reporting or asking about trouble adding their new-design Hawaii driver\u2019s license to their Apple Wallet. It turns out that Hawaii\u2019s Mobile Driver\u2019s License, referred to as mDL, \u201cis only supported for Hawaii\u2019s previous card design. If you have recently received a new Hawaii driver\u2019s 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,\u201d said an email from Honolulu\u2019s Department of Customer Services, which includes the Division of Motor Vehicles.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
The new design, which has been issued since July on Hawaii\u2019s federally compliant driver\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Government officials confirmed that the mDL isn\u2019t supported for the new design, having previously confirmed that airport security scanners can\u2019t read the physical cards of new-design driver licenses for people 21 and older and state IDs for people under 21 (see \u201cKokua Line,\u201d 808ne.ws\/4rWAqNX<\/a>).<\/p>\n The Hawaii mDL for Apple Wallet has been available since 2024, when a state Department of Transportation guide said \u201cadding your Hawai\u2018i driver\u2019s 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,\u201d 808ne.ws\/4iedGpi<\/a>.<\/p>\n Don’t miss out on what’s happening!<\/p>\n Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It’s FREE!<\/p>\n Ryan Wilson, a spokesperson for Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, said it may take the city\u2019s Department of Information Technology up to six months to complete technical work needed to support Hawaii\u2019s new-design credentials in Apple Wallet, explaining the process:<\/p>\n DIT \u201cis working on a statewide system and process that will allow the clerks at our City Department of Customer Services\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 getting the error message \u201ccannot verify identity\u201d each time \u2014 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 \u201cissuing agency.\u201d<\/p>\n We suggested he email CSD\u2019s complaint office, which he did, receiving in response the notice that the new design is not available as a mobile driver\u2019s license. By Friday, the CSD chatbot was disabled for questions about adding the new-design license to Apple Wallet, responding \u201ccannot answer\u201d to each one.<\/p>\n Mahalo<\/p>\n 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. \u2014 Kupuna<\/p>\n