We've seen some scattered support for mobile driver's licenses coming to smartphones over the last couple of years, with devices like the Galaxy S20 slowly adding support for the feature. It's not just enough for the software to get upgrades — keeping your personal data secure is an essential step in this process. Back in the days of Android 11, Google added the Identity Credential API as a way for anyone to store documents, regardless of whether it had the hardware to back it up. Now, with Android 13 and the company's renewed emphasis on security, that might be changing.

Mishaal Rahman at Esper.io has an in-depth look into how this year's Android update will change the requirements for storing mobile driver's licenses. This particular implementation of phone-based ID has captured the attention of at least 30 US states, which could lead to it becoming the main way people store electronic versions of their driver's licenses. Since Android 11, Google has supported software-based methods for storing these documents through Keystone, though in the company's own words, it's not nearly as secure as using a hardware-based method.

With Android 13, it looks like that's finally changing. While current devices receiving an upgrade later this year to the latest software version won't be required to change anything, new phones — specifically with new chipsets — will likely be required to have an Identity Credential Hardware Abstraction Layer, or IC HAL. It's a piece of hardware that allows your phone to store this protected content, usually by accessing a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) within the applications processor. Google will check for IC HAL support — something many current phones do not have — through the Vendor Test Suite, one of the tests required for passing certification for GMS. Again, it'll only apply to devices launching with Android 13, and won't be an immediate factor on your current hardware.

Meanwhile, the IC Direct Access HAL — which allows you to access your license via NFC even when your phone is powered off and completely discharged — won't be required of any manufacturer or chipset maker. It demands that your phone's storage and CPU be separated from the main applications processor, something even fewer devices currently meet than the standard IC HAL implementation.

If it all sounds pretty complicated, well, it is. Obviously, the shift to keeping documents electronically on your person at all times — rather than as a single card carried in your wallet — raises all sorts of security concerns. Boosting the requirements for any form of ID, including driver's licenses, passports, and more, is a great idea in theory, but it could mean waiting a lot longer before you can ditch that leather tri-fold altogether.