Starting this spring, iPhone users can tap their way through airport security using a digital version of their U.S. passport stored in Apple Wallet. The feature, currently in beta as of May 2026, works at more than 250 airports where the Transportation Security Administration has installed identity verification readers equipped with facial comparison technology. It marks the first time a U.S. passport credential has been available in a consumer mobile wallet for domestic airport screening.
The passport addition joins an older capability already built into Apple Wallet: mobile driver’s licenses, or mDLs, issued by participating states. Together, the two credential types give travelers a pair of digital options for clearing TSA checkpoints without reaching for a physical document.
“TSA is committed to modernizing the checkpoint experience,” the agency states on its digital identity page, which confirms the 250-plus airport figure and names Apple Wallet as a supported platform.
How the passport feature works
According to The Associated Press, iPhone users enrolled in the beta can add their U.S. passport information directly to Apple Wallet. At a TSA checkpoint equipped with the necessary hardware, the traveler holds or taps their iPhone near a reader. The system then runs a facial comparison scan, matching the person at the checkpoint against the credential stored on the device. If the match succeeds, the traveler is cleared to proceed. No physical passport or driver’s license needs to leave a pocket or bag.
Apple stores the credential data on the device’s Secure Enclave, the same hardware-level encryption module that protects Face ID and fingerprint data. According to Apple, only the specific information requested by TSA is shared during a transaction, and the company says it does not have access to the identity data users add to their Wallet. This selective-disclosure approach is a core part of the mDL standard (ISO/IEC 18013-5) that underpins both the driver’s license and passport features.
The REAL ID factor
The timing of this expansion is not accidental. REAL ID enforcement took effect on May 7, 2025, after more than a decade of deadline extensions. Since that date, every traveler 18 and older has needed a REAL ID-compliant license, a valid passport, or another accepted form of identification to board a domestic flight. The shift created fresh urgency around digital alternatives.
TSA laid the regulatory groundwork months earlier. On October 24, 2024, the agency published a final rule in the Federal Register that enables continued acceptance of mobile driver’s licenses at airport checkpoints and federal buildings under the REAL ID framework. Without that rule, mDLs could have faced a legal gap once enforcement began, potentially forcing millions of travelers who had adopted digital IDs back to physical cards.
The passport-in-Wallet beta effectively offers a second digital path for travelers whose states have not yet issued REAL ID-compliant mDLs or whose mDLs are not yet supported in Apple Wallet.
State participation and gaps
Not every state’s driver’s license works digitally at TSA checkpoints. The roster of participating states has expanded gradually since TSA began accepting mDLs in pilot programs around 2022, but no single, frequently updated federal list makes it easy for travelers to check at a glance. TSA’s digital identity page confirms that state-issued digital IDs are accepted, and Apple maintains its own list of states whose mDLs can be added to Wallet, but the two lists do not always update in sync.
As of early 2026, states including Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, and Ohio are among those that have rolled out mDL support in Apple Wallet, though the full count continues to change. Travelers should check both Apple’s Wallet settings and their state’s DMV website to confirm current eligibility before relying on a digital ID at the airport.
Android users, meanwhile, have a parallel but separate path. Google Wallet supports digital IDs in some states, and TSA accepts credentials from multiple platforms. But the passport-in-Wallet beta announced by Apple does not have a publicly confirmed Google Wallet equivalent as of this writing.
Privacy and opt-out questions
The convenience of a tap-and-go checkpoint comes with privacy trade-offs that remain only partially addressed. TSA’s digital identity program relies on biometric facial comparison at the reader, and the agency notes on its website that travelers can opt out and request manual document verification instead. In practice, however, the opt-out experience at a busy checkpoint is not well documented, and advocacy groups including the American Civil Liberties Union have raised broader concerns about the expansion of facial recognition in federal screening environments.
On the data-handling side, TSA says facial images captured during the comparison process are deleted after the transaction at most checkpoints, though the agency has acknowledged retaining some images at select locations for system-testing purposes. No publicly available privacy impact assessment specific to passport data stored in Apple Wallet has appeared in federal records reviewed for this article. The Department of Homeland Security does publish privacy impact assessments for TSA programs, but the most recent documents cover the mDL and facial comparison systems broadly rather than the passport-credential beta specifically.
For travelers who want to verify their enrollment in TSA programs tied to digital identity, the agency maintains a Known Traveler Number lookup tool that can confirm account details.
What travelers should know right now
The digital passport feature is still in beta, which means glitches and limited support are expected. TSA has not published adoption figures, error rates, or failure statistics for facial comparison scans tied to mobile credentials. Without that data, it is difficult to gauge whether the system is running smoothly at scale or creating bottlenecks at equipped checkpoints.
For anyone planning to try it, the practical steps are straightforward: open Apple Wallet, follow the prompts to add your U.S. passport information, and confirm that your departure airport is among the 250-plus locations with compatible readers. At the checkpoint, expect to hold your iPhone near the reader and complete a brief facial scan. If the scan fails or you prefer not to use biometric verification, you can still present a physical ID. TSA has stated that manual verification remains available at every checkpoint.
The system is designed as an additional option, not a replacement for physical documents. But with REAL ID enforcement now in effect and digital credential support expanding across states and platforms, the window in which pulling out a plastic card is the only way through security is narrowing. Travelers passing through equipped airports in the coming months will be the ones who determine whether the convenience holds up under real-world pressure.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
