Montana Highway Patrol Troopers are now accepting Mobile IDs, an optional and new alternative to traditional driver’s licenses.
A Montana Mobile ID is a digital version of your physical driver’s license. It’s now available on a smartphone via Apple or Google Wallet.
Montana Highway Patrol Troopers are currently the only law enforcement agency in the state accepting Montana Mobile IDs for routine traffic stops.
They are not allowed to request a Mobile ID, but drivers can opt to use it in place of a physical one. Officers read it through a state-issued iPhone. According to the state Justice Department the only information collected from Mobile ID is the same that’s on a physical drivers license.
Users will never be required to physically hand over their device to law enforcement. The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that police require a warrant to search cell phones, even if acquired during a legal arrest.
The state still recommends everyone carry a traditional physical ID for verification.
