- TSA now accepts Colorado’s mobile driver’s license at Denver International Airport and more than 250 airports.
- Travelers can show the credential in the myColorado app or phone wallet; TSA officers have completed training.
- About 20,000 users have activated the pilot since July, with roughly 3,700 monthly users at Denver airport.
TSA now accepts Colorado’s new mobile driver’s license at Denver International Airport and more than 250 airports nationwide, allowing travelers to show a phone-based credential at security checkpoints. The option also works at other Colorado airports and participating checkpoints across the country.
Travelers can use the credential through the myColorado app or a mobile phone’s digital wallet. TSA officers have completed training to process it. The feature remains optional.
Gov. Jared Polis announced the expansion after years of work with federal officials. He said the change lets the federal government accept the state’s app-based identification at airport security.
“We have been working on this for years and now the federal government will accept your myColorado app identification at airport security.”
The credential produces a QR code connected to the traveler’s mobile record. At the checkpoint, that code can take the place of a physical ID or boarding pass. Travelers should still bring a physical ID as backup.
TSA uses a camera check alongside the digital credential. Dan Velez, a TSA spokesperson, said the system captures a live image and compares it with the photograph linked to the MDL.
“This technology reads the digital ID and takes a real-time photo of the traveler,” Velez said. “The system then compares the live photo with the photo connected to the mobile driver’s license to help confirm that traveler's identity.”
Velez said travelers may opt out of both the MDL and the facial comparison technology. A person who does not want to use either option can continue presenting a physical credential at the checkpoint.
The phone credential is separate from Colorado’s older digital ID
The MDL meets REAL ID requirements, while the Colorado Digital ID serves state-level identity checks. The two credentials are not interchangeable.
The MDL appears under its own tab in the app. Travelers may also place it in a phone wallet, giving them more than one way to display the credential during the airport process.
The QR code is the item TSA scans. Travelers do not need to hand over a plastic card when they choose the digital route.
About 20,000 users have activated the pilot since July
Colorado launched its MDL pilot in early July. Approximately 20,000 users had activated the feature since then, according to the rollout information.
Usage has been highest at the Denver airport. Around 3,700 travelers per month use an MDL there, making the location the leading airport for the credential.
TSA began accepting digital Colorado IDs at Denver’s TSA PreCheck checkpoints in 2023. The newer MDL expands acceptance beyond that earlier arrangement and reaches more than 250 airports nationwide.
The rollout took place in late August 2026. Colorado residents began using their phones to pass through airport security after the state launched the updated credential on Monday.
TSA’s wider digital-identity push includes the airport as one of its most prominent early-use locations. The agency has trained its officers to read the credential and complete the identity check.
Travelers should open the MDL before reaching the checkpoint and keep their physical ID accessible. Officials continue to recommend carrying that backup “at least for now,” even as the phone-based option reaches more airports.
The credential remains an optional way to move through security. A physical ID continues to provide the fallback if a traveler chooses not to use the digital system.
