The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has earned a national award for digital access for the “Skip the Line” program that allows Mississippians to schedule appointments at local driver’s license offices. Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell says the department is continuing to work on other projects that will expand access to Drivers Licenses. He says they are developing a mobile ID app that can be used as a virtual driver’s license and coronavirus vaccination card.
“We anticipate after meeting with ITS last week that we will be offering some sort of Mississippi Wallet whereby not only will your driver’s license and your COVID vaccine card, but you can also have your hunting license and fishing license and others," says Tindell. "[We are] working with other state agencies to provide the information that they do in some form of mobile wallet.”
Several neighboring states have made a virtual wallet app available to residents. The digital wallet can be used in the same ways as a physical driver’s license, such as while driving or purchasing age-restricted goods. And Tindell says the app will help the state’s law enforcement be prepared when conducting traffic stops.
He says “From a law enforcement perspective, it will allow a law enforcement officer approaching the car to interact via Bluetooth with that phone so that they can know exactly who they’re dealing with before they even get to the car. And I think that’s a great feature for law enforcement, and it would be able to be utilized for any lawful purchase that you could otherwise use a regular ID.”
Officials say the state is also working to expand employee training, adding a new call center, and new ways to obtain a driver’s license.
