The UK government is launching a GOV.UK Wallet and App to simplify access to services and documents like digital driver’s licences, alongside reforms to public sector technology to save £45 billion and drive efficiency and growth.
Brits will be given the option to use a digital version of their driver’s licence from their phone to easily prove their age when buying age restricted items online and in person – as well as proving their right to drive.
A mobile driver’s licence will be one of the first digital documents in a GOV.UK Wallet launched later this year and will ultimately allow people to prove their age from their phone in shops or online, the Science Secretary Peter Kyle announced today.
It comes alongside other new and improved ways for people to interact with government digitally, with an expansive blueprint for how the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which will now be home to a revamped Government Digital Service (GDS), will use digital tools and data to transform public services and help the taxpayer benefit from £45 billion in efficiency savings – essential to delivering our Plan for Change.
The GOV.UK Wallet will allow users to securely store government-issued documents on their phone and use them easily when needed. The technology will make use of security features that are built into modern smart phones, including facial recognition checks similar to those used when people pay using a digital bank card. It means that digital documents will be more secure, even if a device is lost.
Showcasing the tool earlier today, the Science Secretary set out that by the end of 2027, the GOV.UK Wallet will include documents like Veteran Cards, DBS checks and every other credential issued by the government – for those who choose to use them, while traditional physical documents will remain available.
It comes alongside a planned summer 2025 launch of a GOV.UK App designed to make it even simpler for people to navigate the GOV.UK website, access government information and complete essential tasks from their phone. Crucially, the new GOV.UK App will remember users’ activity to offer a more convenient, and personalised experience of interacting with government, with future additions also set to include an AI-powered chatbot, GOV.UK Chat, ways to make payments and receive timely notifications and reminders about services that matter to them.
Science Secretary Peter Kyle said:
Along with CDs, the Walkman and flip phones, the overflowing drawer rammed with letters from the government and hours spent on hold to get a basic appointment will soon be consigned to history. GOV.UK Wallet will mean that every letter or identity document you receive from the government could be issued to you virtually.
For people who choose to use GOV.UK Wallet, they will find it easier to prove they’re entitled to benefits or check their age when buying alcohol or DIY equipment, with more security and trust than ever before. Crucially, it also opens huge opportunities to make interacting with public services much easier by putting people in control of their own data.
We will be overhauling how the public sector uses technology which is essential to delivering our Plan for Change, and in combination with this new tech for people to use themselves, we are going to slash the time people waste dealing with annoying processes so they can focus on what matters to them.