European Commission considers EU-wide digital driving licence

In the UK, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is aiming to develop an app featuring digital licences by 2024. File photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

The European Commission is considering the introduction of an EU-wide digital driving licence.

Labour TD Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Transport via parliamentary question if there are plans to develop an online driver licence app in which clients can store a virtual driving licence, learner permit and other driver cards such as a Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton, said the European Commission and member states are currently assessing the introduction of such a system. The proposed digital driving licence would use blockchain technology and would be part of the European Blockchain Service Infrastructure Project.

Blockchain technology has gained popularity over the last decade, with the rise of E-coins, such as Bitcoin, as well as the more recent growth of Non-fungible tokens or NFTs.

According to Ms Naughton the first meeting of the working group on Digital Driving Licences, established under the Committee on Driving Licences, took place on October 27 last year. She said the objective of the working group is to assist the Commission in drafting necessary requirements.

The introduction of a digital driving licence will require agreement on EU technical and operational procedures, as well as changes to the Driving Licence Directive, which is scheduled for review this year. “The Working Group is currently examining the high-level business requirements,” Ms Naughton said.

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The digital driving licence could well find itself at home in a digital wallet, for which the EU announced plans last summer. The wallet would not be mandatory but would allow people to store important documents such as ID.

In a statement last June, the European Commission said it is hoping to establish a toolbox, which would include details of the app, by September 2022. It is hoped that the system will reduce costs and hurdles for individuals as they move throughout EU states, in a way that is secure and transparent. 

It would be available to anyone who wants it, widely useable and would allow users to be in control of their data, a statement from the European Commission said. There are a number of digital wallet apps already on the market, such as Apple Wallet or Google Pay, that allow users to store things like boarding passes or virtual payment cards.

In the UK, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is aiming to develop an app featuring digital licences by 2024. The news was announced last September by British Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps.

The move is said to be part of post-Brexit measures to make transport “fairer, greener and more efficient”. Reports in the UK at the time suggested that the British government was previously unable to develop digital licences before Brexit because of EU law.