The Transportation Security Administration now accepts myColorado mobile driver licenses at every Colorado airport where it screens passengers, including Denver International Airport. Coloradans who add that credential to the myColorado app can use it at those checkpoints and at more than 250 participating airports when they fly outside the state, the agency said on August 31, 2026.
The option is not a replacement for a physical card. TSA still accepts a printed license or identification card and tells travelers to carry one as a backup. The useful next step is to enroll the right credential before you reach the line, then know what Credential Authentication Technology, called CAT-2, will do with a live photo.
- What changed: TSA now accepts myColorado mobile driver licenses at Colorado airports, including DEN.
- Who is affected: Colorado license or ID holders who add an mDL to the myColorado app.
- National reach: The same credential also works at more than 250 participating U.S. airports.
- Checkpoint process: CAT-2 readers compare the mDL photo with a live photo at the document check.
- Backup rule: Carry a physical acceptable ID. Facial comparison remains optional.
What TSA confirmed at Denver checkpoints
TSA’s Colorado press release is the primary confirmation. Federal Security Director Douglas Cruz said officers at DEN and the state’s other TSA airports are trained to accept and process myColorado mobile driver licenses, and that the agency is using the credential to tighten identity checks while speeding the document step.
The TSA August 31 notice applies to all Colorado airports where TSA screens passengers, not only DEN. That includes Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, Durango, and the smaller commercial fields where federal officers staff the checkpoint.
Independent reporting from ID Tech Wire matches those limits. Coloradans can present the standards-based credential at DEN and every other TSA-screened airport in the state, and at more than 250 participating airports when they leave Colorado.
TSA did not say the physical card is obsolete. The same notice says officers will keep accepting a traveler’s physical credential, and it advises passengers to carry that card as a backup if a reader is down, a phone battery dies, or a lane is not equipped for digital IDs.
How CAT-2 actually checks you
CAT-2 is TSA’s second-generation Credential Authentication Technology. The units combine a digital ID reader with a camera that takes a real-time photo of the person standing at the podium, then compares that live image with the portrait stored on the mobile license.
Through a secure connection, the same unit can confirm that the traveler is ticketed for same-day air travel and whether the passenger is eligible for a screening status such as TSA PreCheck. TSA says that check can remove the need to hold out a boarding pass at the document podium.
ID Tech Wire describes the traveler motion in practical terms. At a CAT-2 lane, you open the credential in the myColorado app and hold the phone near the reader so the equipment can pull the screening data, confirm same-day ticketing, and run the portrait comparison.
TSA says photos captured by CAT-2 units are never stored or used for any purpose other than immediate identity verification. Travelers who do not want the facial comparison can opt out and complete an alternative identity check with an officer.
If you decline the camera, tell the officer before you present the ID so the lane can switch to a manual check instead of stalling the queue.
myColorado, phone wallets, and the 21-state map
TSA’s participating-states list treats Colorado as one of 21 states offering mobile driver licenses that CAT-2 units accept. The Colorado row on that official table includes Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, and CO Mobile ID through myColorado.
Those are not identical products. TSA’s press release tells Coloradans to add the myColorado mobile driver license to the myColorado app Wallet, and it points enrollment questions to myColorado.gov. The agency also notes that other mDL alternatives exist in the major phone wallets.
The TSA participating-states page is the live roster to check before you fly. TSA currently lists Colorado among 21 states there, with Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, and CO Mobile ID on the Colorado row.
TSA also lists digital IDs based on a U.S. passport in Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet with CLEAR, and Clear ID. Those passport-wallet options are separate from a Colorado mobile driver license, even if they can appear at the same CAT-2 reader.
Eligible mobile licenses must be based on a REAL ID-compliant driver license or identification card, or on an Enhanced Driver License or Enhanced Identification Card. A noncompliant physical card does not become valid because a screenshot of it lives on a phone.
What to set up before you fly
Do the enrollment at home, not at the podium. TSA’s digital ID page tells travelers to add an acceptable state-issued license or ID to a TSA-approved app or phone wallet and to finish the issuer’s setup instructions before the trip, so the credential is ready to present.
Colorado’s myColorado mobile driver license is free for state residents who already hold a valid license or identification card, according to TSA. ID Tech Wire reports that users must complete the app’s identity-verification process before the digital credential can be added.
Bring the physical card anyway. TSA’s digital ID page still says travelers should carry an acceptable physical ID, and the Colorado notice repeats that backup advice. A dead phone, a crashed app, or a lane without a digital reader should not be the reason you miss a flight.
If you are connecting through DEN on the way to a mountain trip, the credential only solves the identity step. It does not change how you pack a car, time a drive, or choose overnight stops on a 7-day Colorado road trip after you leave the airport.
The same is true for a ski-town itinerary. A working mobile license gets you through an equipped checkpoint faster. It does not replace lodging holds, parking plans, or the local timing questions in a Breckenridge day plan.
What the bag belt still requires
Digital ID does not relax carry-on rules. Liquids, laptops, and small personal items are still screened under the same checkpoint standards, including the familiar questions covered in Deep Arrival’s ChapStick and TSA liquids guide.
PreCheck status, when it is encoded on your ticket, can still be read by CAT-2. That does not enroll you in PreCheck by itself, and it does not move you into a Touchless ID lane that uses a stored airline passport profile instead of a state mobile license.
TSA PreCheck Touchless ID at DEN is a different product. Those dedicated lanes are for PreCheck travelers who opted in with a participating airline and have a valid passport on file. A myColorado mDL is not that enrollment.
ConfirmID is also separate. Starting February 1, 2026, travelers 18 and older who arrive without an acceptable ID may pay $45 to use TSA ConfirmID. A working myColorado mDL is meant to keep you out of that fallback, not to replace it for someone who never enrolled.
| If you… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Hold a Colorado license and fly from DEN this week. | Add the myColorado mDL before you leave home, and still pack the physical card. |
| Connect through another participating U.S. airport. | Check TSA’s participating-states list, then present the same enrolled credential at CAT-2. |
| Do not want a live checkpoint photo. | Tell the officer before you present the ID and use the alternative identity check. |
| Only have a photo of your license on the phone. | Enroll the official mDL in a TSA-listed app or wallet instead of showing a screenshot. |
| Have no acceptable physical or digital ID. | Expect ConfirmID, a $45 fee, and extra time rather than a phone screenshot. |
- Do this tonight: Open myColorado, complete mDL enrollment, and confirm the credential opens without a network drop.
- At DEN: Use an equipped CAT-2 lane, keep the physical card in reach, and say so if you opt out of the camera.
- On a connection: Recheck TSA’s participating-states list. Not every U.S. airport accepts mobile IDs yet.
- Do not assume: A wallet pass, PreCheck Touchless ID, or a photo of your license is the same as a myColorado mDL.
The traveler decision is narrow and current. If you already hold a Colorado REAL ID or enhanced card, you can now present a properly enrolled myColorado mobile driver license at DEN and at the other airports TSA has equipped for it, while keeping a physical backup in the same pocket.
Can I leave my physical Colorado license at home?
No. TSA still accepts physical credentials and tells travelers to carry one as a backup if a reader, phone, or app fails at the checkpoint.
Does a myColorado mobile ID work outside Colorado?
Yes, at more than 250 participating U.S. airports listed by TSA, in addition to every Colorado airport where TSA screens passengers, including DEN.
Can I skip the live photo at CAT-2?
Yes. Facial comparison is optional. Tell the TSA officer before you present the ID and complete the alternative identity check instead.
Is this the same as TSA PreCheck Touchless ID at DEN?
No. Touchless ID uses an opted-in airline passport profile in dedicated PreCheck lanes. A myColorado mDL is a state mobile license at CAT-2.
