By MICHAEL CRIMMINS
Glasgow News 1
Now a wallet isn’t the only place a license resides as Governor Andy Beshear announced the mobile ID app.
People in Barren County can download the free app that provides “a secure digital version of a standard or REAL ID driver’s license, or ID accepted for air travel at more than 250 airports,” a Kentucky Transportation Cabinet press release stated. It can also be used for age-restricted purchases and “transactions requiring verification” at participating establishments, according to the release.
The app is voluntary and does not replace a physical ID that will be needed for traffic stops and in certain places, the release stated.
“Mobile ID offers Kentuckians more options for air travel, while further protecting them from identity theft or having their private information shared,” Beshear said. “We want our families to be safe and feel safe while they are traveling, and this is just another step Team Kentucky is taking to increase safety for our people.”
“Everything’s in your phone; now your ID can be too,” Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray added. “A digital ID serves as an addition to a physical ID, allowing Kentuckians convenience when proving their identity. One of the biggest benefits is letting cardholders limit showing only necessary personal information during a transaction or service, like withholding your address when proving your age to buy restricted items.”
Mobile ID is accepted at TSA security checkpoints at most U.S. airports. They are accepted at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport in Covington, the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Barkley Regional Airport in Paducah and Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport, the release stated.
People who upgrade from a standard to a REAL ID will also see it reflected in the app before the physical card arrives. REAL IDs are required for air travel as of My 7, 2025. Roughly 45 percent of Kentuckians have made the switch, according to a December 2025 press release.
Eighteen other states offer mobile ID apps, according to the transportation cabinet.
How to Get Your Kentucky Mobile ID
- Download the Kentucky Mobile ID Verify app from the App Store or through Google Play.
- Register the phone number of the Mobile ID device. An individual’s Mobile ID can only be on one device at a time to help protect their identity.
- Take a picture of the front and back of your physical ID (driver license, permit, or non-driver ID), using their phone’s camera.
- Take a live selfie. The app checks your photo and ID against information on file with your Transportation Cabinet driving record to ensure you are who you say you are.
- Once your information is verified, your Mobile ID is active and ready to use wherever it is
accepted. - To learn more about Mobile ID or how to verify a Mobile ID, visit www.drive.ky.gov/mobile-id.
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