Colorado’s digital IDs and state-issued driving licences will now be accepted by the TSA at the airport’s North Security touchpoint, confirmation of REAL ID which TSA PreCheck travellers can add to their Google Wallet. 2025 promises to bring enforcement of requirements for REAL ID.
The Colorado Digital ID, available through the state’s myColorado mobile app, allows residents to store their driver’s licences or state identification cards digitally and since November, within a recognised, government approved private wallet. such as Apple.
Larry Nau, TSA’s Federal Security Director for Colorado commented on their developments to overlap state-issued digital IDs with private sector wallets to use within the travel industry. An “increasing number of people” he said are eligible to use “a state-issued digital ID at the security checkpoint during the identity verification process”
“We will continue to work with our state and private sector partners to bring the latest technologies and capabilities to the security process at DEN” he continued.
As other states and jurisdictions are trialling similar initiatives to collaborate with technology developers, travel and financial sectors and in doing so adopting credentials in wallets.
Coloradans who begin their travel journey at DEN can use their digital ID for identity verification in the TSA PreCheck® lanes at the North Security Checkpoint.
TSA has endeavoured to fully operationalise Credential Authentication Technology (CAT-2) terminals at important checkpoints, which are equipped with connected digital ID readers and live facial recognition that captures a real-time photo of the traveller to check valid ticket purchases and to detect fraudulent documents. T
After facial biometric matching, a TSA office can manually verify the traveller is who they say they are to proceed to security screening, but a hybrid approach also enables them to opt out in favour of alternative identity verification method.
The CAT-2 system permits the traveller to proceed to security screening without having to present their boarding pass.
TSA has 2,000 CAT-2 units deployed at 220 airports worldwide and DEN is one of 26 airports nationwide that is capable of scanning more than 2.500 different types of security document.
Last November, the Colorado Department of Revenue announced that state residents could add their Colorado ID to Apple Wallet. TSA continues to integrate new technologies into its identity verification process.
