You Can Now Save Your Passport on Your Android Phone, But There’s a Catch

Google Wallet is slowly pushing to replace your physical wallet on your Android phone, and it’s now one step closer to that goal. 

You can now create a passport ID pass in Google Wallet. You can already store items in your Google Wallet, such as loyalty cards, concert tickets, plane tickets and transit passes. And six states let you store your driver’s license or state ID in Google Wallet: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and New Mexico. With the new Wallet ID pass, you now can store a digital version of your US passport on your Android device as well.

However, the digital passport only works at over two dozen TSA checkpoints, including at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Miami International Airport (MIA). 

Here’s what you need to know about using the Google Wallet passport ID pass. For more, check out Google Pay vs. Google Wallet and the best digital wallets and payment apps around.

Where can I use my Google Wallet digital passport?

Right now, not everywhere. You can only use it for travel within the US, so if you’re planning an international trip, you’ll still need your physical passport with you. Also, you cannot use your ID pass to prove your identity anywhere outside of these TSA locations, so no, you can’t use the new digital passport to prove your identity at the DMV, a hotel or a bar. 

Here are the airports where you can use the digital passport right now.

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)
• Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
• Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
• Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
• Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL)
• Denver International Airport (DEN)
• Des Moines International Airport (DSM)
• Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
• Eastern Iowa Airport (CID)
• Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport (GPT)
• Harry Reid International Airport (LAS)
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
• Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN)
• John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
• John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH)
• LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
• Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU)
• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
• Miami International Airport (MIA)
• Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
• Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
• Richmond International Airport (RIC)
• Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
• Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
• San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
• San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC)
• Will Rogers World Airport (OKC)

How do I add my passport to Google Wallet?

To add your passport to Google Wallet, on your Android device, open the Wallet app and:

• Tap the Add to Wallet button.
• Hit ID Verify.
• Choose the ID pass/Passport (US) option.
• Finally, hit Get Started.

Now, with your passport handy, follow the prompts, which include scanning the passport with your camera and scanning the security chip on the back cover using NFC. Finally, you’ll be asked to take a video of your face, to confirm your identity.

Once you’re at a participating TSA checkpoint, all you need to do is tap your phone on the digital ID reader, without having to hand over any of your physical documents. On your phone, you’ll receive a message asking you to consent to share your digital ID information with the TSA.

ID pass for Passports will become available to all eligible users in the coming weeks, so if you don’t see the feature in your Google Wallet just yet, be patient.

For more, check out the first developer preview for Android 16.