Google is giving Android a major new feature, adding support for managing digital credentials, such as driver’s licenses and passports.

Governments and organizations have increasingly been adopting digital credentials, giving users the ability to use their smartphones for identification and verification. Google is adding digital credential support to Android, providing an easy way to interact with and manage them.

The company announced the feature in a blog post.

Digital credentials are cryptographically verifiable documents. The most common emerging use case for digital credentials is identity documents such as driver’s licenses, passports, or national ID cards. In the coming years, it is anticipated that Android developers will develop innovative applications of this technology for a wider range of personal credentials that users will need to present digitally, including education certifications, insurance policies, memberships, permits, and more.

Digital credentials can be provided by any installed Android app. These apps are known as “credential holders”; typically digital wallet apps such as Google Wallet or Samsung Wallet.

Other apps not necessarily thought of as “wallets” may also have a use for exposing a digital credential. For example an airline app might want to offer their users’ air miles reward program membership as a digital credential to be presented to other apps or websites.

Google says digital IDs are expanding rapidly, in both the UK and the US, giving users more options to use digital IDs over physical ones.

Residents of the United Kingdom will soon be able to create digital ID passes with their U.K. passports and securely and conveniently store them in Google Wallet. At launch, we’re partnering with Rail Delivery Group, which will offer train travellers the opportunity to use their digital ID to verify that they meet the eligibility criteria for select Railcards on its Railcard retailing platform railcard.co.uk.

Residents in Arkansas, Montana, Puerto Rico and West Virginia will soon be able to save their government-issued digital IDs to Google Wallet. And in Arizona, Georgia, Maryland and New Mexico, users will also be able to use their mobile IDs at the DMV for improved and streamlined customer experiences.

With the REAL ID deadline approaching on May 7, 2025, you can use your ID pass created from a U.S. passport with TSA security for domestic travel at supported airports, even if you do not have a REAL ID driver’s license or state-issued ID. ID passes created from U.K. passports are not currently eligible for use at TSA security. Note that ID pass is not a replacement for your physical ID so keep that with you as needed.

Google is also working with ecosystem partners to ensure digital IDs can be used with partner services.

New use cases are on the way in collaboration with our strong partner ecosystem. Soon, you’ll be able to use your digital ID to recover Amazon accounts, access online health services with CVS Health and MyChart by Epic, verify profiles on platforms like Uber and more.

The announcement should provide some valuable real-world utility for Android users, making it a bit easier to manage their IDs.