Google wallet gained support for government IDs and driver's licenses in June of last year. However, the feature was only available in Maryland at the time. A few months after launch, Google added support for IDs for three more states: Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia. Now, the app is getting support for California IDs.
Governor Gavin Newsom recently announced California residents will be able to add their state IDs and driver’s licenses to Google Wallet and Apple Wallet in the coming weeks. At launch, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints at Los Angeles International, San Francisco International, and San Jose Mineta airports will accept the stored licenses, and a few businesses in downtown Los Angeles and Sacramento will recognize the digital state IDs for age verification.
We’re partnering with two iconic California companies – Apple and Google – to deliver convenient, private and secure driver’s licenses and ID cards directly to people’s phones. This is a major step in our efforts to better serve all Californians, meeting people where they are and using technology people use every day. – Governor Gavin Newsom
Unfortunately, even if you store your digital IDs in Google Wallet or Apple Wallet, you still need to carry the physical IDs. The announcement clearly states that offering an ID in Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, or mDL in the California DMV Wallet app “does not replace the requirement for individuals to carry a physical card.”