Iowa test drives mobile licenses
11 May, 2015
category: Digital ID, Government, Library
Kiosks enable license renewal, replacement
While not as advaced as a digital driver license, Iowa is one of seven states enabling residents to use a kiosk to renew or replace documents as well.
In 2013, the Iowa Department of Transportation decided to have to kiosks at the Iowa State Fair to see how residents responded, says Mark Lowe, director of Iowa DOT’s Motor Vehicle Division. Over the span of 10 days, the kiosks serviced 1,000 customers and convinced officials to use the kiosks more.
In 2015 the state is planning to roll out 20 kiosks at various locations, including retail locations like grocery stores, Lowe says.
Residents simply walk up to the kiosk and choose the trasaction they wish to perform. If it’s a license renewal they scan the bar code on their license and the camera in the kiosk will use a one-to-one facial recognition check to compare the image on record with the individual standing at the kiosk.
If the individual doesn’t have their license or it was lost they will be asked a series of demographic and knowledge-based questions, he explains. If they answer those questions correctly, facial recognition will be performed and the transaction enabled.
The kiosks also asks other questions once an identity has been authenticated, Lowe says. Current address, organ donor status and other information is also confirmed during a kiosk session. After a payment is made the resident then receives a reciept for the purchase and the license will be mailed from a central issuance facility within days.
While driver license tasks are what the kiosks will be used for to start, Iowa is considering other tasks as well, Lowe says. Once an identity is confirmed the kiosk might be used for prinitng out birth ceritficates, voter registration and fishing and hunting licenses. “We’re just scratching the surface with driver licenses,” he adds.
Elsewhere, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles deployed eight kiosks across the state for residents to renew or replace IDs, says Margaret Bouse, senior director of marketing and new market development at MorphoTrust. Massachusetts is the seventh state to deploy MorphoTrust kiosks with more states in the pipeline.
“DMVs see this as a way to create a better customer service option,” Bouse says. “It encourages people to do the transaction themselves and gives a sense of instant gratification.”
Like Iowa, Massachusetts is a central-issuance state meaning residents get a receipt from the kiosk transaction and their license arrives in the mail a few days later. She notes that for states that have over-the-counter issuance, residents would take their receipt to a clerk where they would wait for the ID to be printed.
States are deploying the kiosks to reduce lines and wait times and increase customer service, Bouse concludes. It’s another option to mailing in renewals or doing it online.