Apple’s New ‘Digital ID’ Uses Your Passport — But It’s Not a Passport

A little over two weeks ago, Apple Wallet chief Jennifer Bailey hinted that digital US passport support was coming “soon,”, and it turns out that it really was just around the corner. Apple has officially turned the key today, allowing US passport holders nationwide to create a digital identity card on their iPhone.

Apple is calling the initiative “Digital ID,” effectively turning the term for the digital driver’s license feature it introduced in iOS 15 into a brand. However, reading between the lines, that’s likely because this isn’t technically a digital US passport.

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Throughout Apple’s press release, it refers to this as “an ID in Apple Wallet using information from their U.S. passport” (emphasis ours):

From the image shared by Apple, the card that appears in the Apple Wallet app will also be labelled simply “Digital ID,” which is also how it appears when adding it in Wallet, with an intro screen that makes it clear you’re using your US passport to create a digital ID.

That may sound like semantics, but it’s an important distinction for Apple to make, since the resulting digital identity card can’t be used in most ways that a passport can. While it is REAL ID compliant, it won’t work for international travel or even allow US citizens to re-enter the US.

If you live in one of the dozen or so states that support digital driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet, you’ll likely have little use for this new Digital ID, as it doesn’t unlock anything that your state ID doesn’t already provide. It’s largely a way to bring digital ID to the rest of the US — something Bailey subtly hints at in the press release.

“Since introducing the ability to add a driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet in 2022, we’ve seen how much users love having their ID right on their devices,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “Digital IDs brings this secure and convenient option to even more users across the country, as they can now add an ID to Wallet using information from their U.S. passport.”

In fact, users in supported states may find they’re better off sticking with their state IDs for now. That’s because Apple says the new Digital ID acceptance is only rolling out in beta right now as TSA checkpoints, which means there’s a chance it may not work as reliably, even in places that already support digital driver’s licenses in Apple Wallet. The same might also apply to using the new Digital ID for purposes such as age verification at local businesses.

Still, the good news is that the nationwide reach of the new Digital ID will likely convince more businesses and organizations to get on board. Apple notes that TSA support is rolling out at more than 250 airports in the US, which is a substantial increase from the earlier rollouts, which have mostly been confined to states that already support digital driver’s licenses.

How to Use Your Passport to Create a Digital ID

The process for adding the new Digital ID to Apple Wallet is similar to that for a digital driver’s license, with a new “Digital ID” option now appearing in Apple Wallet, above the list of states:

1. Open the Wallet app.
2. Tap the plus button in the top-right corner.
3. Select Driver’s License and ID Cards.
4. Choose Digital ID and follow the instructions.
   

You’ll need to use your iPhone to scan the photo page of your physical passport, hold the passport against the iPhone to scan the chip embedded in the back of the passport, and then take a selfie for verification with a series of facial and head movements to confirm your identity.

Apple hasn’t specified minimum iOS version requirements, and the feature appears to be a server-side update. Since this was announced as part of iOS 26, you’ll likely need to be running at least iOS 26.0. It’s also important to note that this is only available for iPhones with their region set to the United States, so expatriates will need to switch their iPhone’s region setting to the United States if they want to add their passport.

Once the Digital ID has been added, it can be presented at TSA checkpoints and other businesses that support it by selecting it in Apple Wallet and holding it near an identity reader. As with digital driver’s licenses, you’ll be able to review the information the reader is requesting, and then confirm that you want to share it by using Face ID or Touch ID to authenticate.

It may be some time before the new Digital ID is widely accepted, and while the setup process is simple, it’s important to remember what this Digital ID is — and what it isn’t. It is not a replacement for your US passport.

For now, its primary use is to bring a REAL ID-compliant digital identity to millions of iPhone users who don’t yet have a digital driver’s license. As more TSA checkpoints and businesses adopt the standard, it will become a convenient tool, but much like you still need to keep your physical driver’s license in your wallet on the road, you’ll need your physical passport on you for international travel.