The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said it is in the early stages of developing a “quick, easy and secure” service for drivers.
So here's a little prototype of something we're working on #drivinglicence pic.twitter.com/a5eItrdiNI
— Oliver Morley (@omorley1) May 13, 2016
At the moment a test version of the system will launch privately in September this year, with plans to roll it out to drivers by April next year.
The digital version will not replace plastic licences, the DVLA said.
It was first announced by DVLA chief executive Oliver Morley last May, when he tweeted a picture of a that a prototype for a digital licence.
The photo he shared shows an iPhone screen displaying the image of a licence in the Apple Pay app, which enables people to use their phone to make payments and store boarding passes and other relevant documents.
Apple’s Wallet is already used to store physical credit cards, airline boarding passes and loyalty cards.
Further details on the timetable for such a service have been included in the DVLA’s business plan for the next 12 months.
It states: “During 2017/18 we will be developing a quick, easy and secure service to allow customers to view a representation of their driving licence on their smartphone.
“The driver will be in control of their data and this can be used to share and validate driver information with trusted third parties through a secure website.
“The digital licence service will only be available to driving licence holders who have authenticated themselves on gov.uk through the existing driving licence service.
“This service will be available 24/7, wherever the driver has a web connection.
DVLA said work is in the early stages, with further details on what the service will look like to be released in future.
The paper part of the licence was abolished in June last year as part of the Government’s drive to reduce unnecessary red tape.
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