Apple will soon introduce a new feature for Apple Wallet that allows users in the United States to create a digital ID using their passport. This digital ID will be accepted at select TSA checkpoints for domestic travel. This feature was previously announced as part of the iOS 26 release and represents Apple’s ongoing expansion of Wallet beyond payments and tickets into a secure location for digital identity.
Currently, Apple Wallet’s support for government IDs is available to residents of twelve states and Puerto Rico, covering roughly one third of all U.S. license holders. The passport-based Digital ID feature did not launch with the initial release of iOS 26 and is instead scheduled for a future software update.
While these new digital IDs will not replace a physical U.S. passport, they are designed to help travelers move through TSA checkpoints more efficiently. They can be used alongside digital boarding passes already stored in Wallet. This development is especially relevant following the enforcement of Real ID rules, which began in May and made many standard state IDs insufficient for airport security.
The upcoming launch of passport-linked Digital IDs was announced by Jennifer Bailey, Vice President of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, at the Money 20/20 USA conference. During her presentation, she also shared other statistics about the adoption of Apple Wallet.
She noted that Apple Pay is now available in 89 markets worldwide, with support from more than 11,000 banks and networks, including 15 domestic networks. Additionally, 90 percent of retailers in the United States now support Apple Pay, a significant increase from just 3 percent at its launch eleven years ago.
Bailey also highlighted other non-payment features in the Wallet app, such as the ability to store car keys, transit passes, and hotel keys. Transit options are supported in over 250 regions and 800 cities across the globe. More than 2 million hotel room keys have been provisioned, supporting over 65,000 hotel rooms. Furthermore, 29 car manufacturers and over 300 different car models now support the Car Key feature in Wallet.