Baldwin deputies prepare for digital driver’s license checks

Drivers can already present digital licenses to equipped officers. The 2025 law requires all officers to have verification equipment by July 1, 2027. House Bill 296

MILLEDGEVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A 2025 Georgia law is moving the state toward broader use of digital driver’s licenses during traffic stops, with all law enforcement officers required to have equipment to verify them by July 1, 2027.

Under House Bill 296, drivers can present a digital driver’s license to an officer who has the proper equipment to verify it. The Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office is preparing for the July 2027 requirement.

“We had to bring it here because the governor signed it into effect back in July [2025], House Bill 296,” Baldwin County Chief Deputy Scott Deason said. “Which allows Georgia drivers to present a digital ID in place of their physical ID that they get from the Department of Driver Services.”

Deason says that when officers scan a digital ID with their device, they will only see the same information available on a physical ID: the holder’s photo, license class, any restrictions and whether the ID is valid.

“Those two phones will touch, the information from the driver’s phone will be transferred to the deputy’s phone and go straight to the dispatch,” he said. “The deputy’s phone does not retain any of the driver’s information; it simply is to get to our dispatch.”

Deason says as Georgia moves toward wider use of digital identification, it can provide a more convenient way for residents to carry their driver’s license.

“It’s a very convenient way to keep your ID with you on your phone without having your physical drivers license,” he said. “Most people are going to have their phone with them if they don’t have anything else. So, it will ensure that they will always have a proper form of ID with them.”