Groundbreaking new technology for public proofs of identification

twoday has developed the Driving Licence App, the first of its kind in the world. The solution is developed in collaboration with the Agency for Digital Government and is the first step towards more digital versions of public proofs of identification.

The Challenge

The Agency for Digital Government was established in 2011 with the aim of developing the digital public sector in Denmark.

For years, the Danish public sector has worked towards the goal of all Danes being able to use digital self-service for a wide range of services.

The Driving Licence App is the first digital version of a public proof of identification.

The Solution

The driving licence project is the first of its kind in the world, with stakeholders including the Danish police, the Danish Road Traffic Authority, the Agency for Digital Government, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Transport and Housing. With so many interests at stake, agile processes secured a groundbreaking solution.

Digitalisation of the driving licence is a great example of an initiative that makes people's everyday life easier. However, it is a solution that contains personal data and data privacy is of course of great importance.

The great amount of focus on security is reflected in citizens needing to use MitID (the Danish National eID) and their passport when obtaining the Driving Licence App. The Agency for Digital Government is working with external security agencies to make sure that there are no security holes in the application.

The question regarding security has not only been of concern in the development process but is also reflected in the usage of the Driving Licence App. Of course, all data is crypted. The picture that is used on the Driving Licence App is scanned by the citizen alone from the image file in the passport of the person in question. At the same time the picture is solely stored on the phone of the citizen.

“Most citizens would like to use their smartphone since they always have it at hand. In relation to many of our other solutions, such as Digital Post, we see that the vast majority is signing in through their phones. The Driving Licence App is a natural extension of this behaviour.”

Adam Lebech, Deputy Director-General, the Agency for Digital Government

The Value

The result of the collaboration is an accessible and secure Driving Licence App. Danes are able to have it on their smartphones and use it as documentation for a driver's licence, as well as proof of identification within the Danish borders. The Driving Licence App is a voluntary supplement to the physical driving licence.

One year after its launch, 1,6 million Danes had downloaded the Driving Licence App. The Driving Licence App is used approximately 45,000 times a day.