But drivers licenses are frequently verified offline by someone standing at a door, and all they get is a couple seconds glance at it to see if they think it’s authentic. And there are many things that are gated by age, and presenting your drivers license is the common way to prove your age. They’re also used to prove your identity.

So, drivers licenses need a much higher standard of robust offline verification, if they’re going to be digitized. That requires a lot more work, and the most critical parts of that work can only be done by the state that issues the drivers license.

For Apple. The critical thing is that they are going to be the ones who get blamed if this thing goes sideways (like they’re already being blamed now), so they need to make sure that the states are really doing their due diligence to a high standard. The contract is the main thing that what will help enforce that.

But in interactions with the government -- e.g., traffic stops, government offices, perhaps voting -- the same method that's used to verify insurance should also suffice.

Bars and stores that sell controlled substances can still insist on a physical ID. Just because there's a digital ID doesn't mean it has to be accepted everything a physical ID might be. It's still a huge convenience boost if it's only accepted during government interactions.