Apple Wallet’s ID feature does not run on one iOS version. Apple’s own support documents set the requirement state by state, and the gap runs from iOS 16.5 in most participating states to iOS 18.5 for Japan’s My Number Card, the newest addition to Wallet’s identity features.
None of the four requirements below is a rumor. Each is quoted directly from a current Apple support document, checked today, September 13, 2026, the day before iOS 27 ships free to compatible devices.
Four requirements, one feature
| Where you live | What Apple’s support page states |
|---|---|
| Most participating states | iPhone 8 or later with iOS 16.5 or later, or Apple Watch Series 4 or later with watchOS 9.5 or later |
| California | iPhone XS or later with iOS 17.5 or later, or Apple Watch Series 4 or later with watchOS 10 or later |
| Puerto Rico | iPhone XS or later with iOS 18.1 or later, or Apple Watch Series 6 or later with watchOS 11 or later |
| Japan’s My Number Card | An iPhone with iOS 18.5 or later; no Apple Watch option is listed |
Apple’s support document for adding a driver’s license or state ID names Arkansas alongside the general requirement, then breaks out California and Puerto Rico on their own lines with a newer iOS floor for each. Apple does not explain why those two locations need a later release; the document simply states the numbers.
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13 states and Puerto Rico, and one country outside the US
Apple’s own account of 2025, published in a January 12, 2026 newsroom recap, states that state ID and driver’s license support is “now live in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico,” and that Apple added support for “Japan’s My Number Card on iPhone, marking the first international ID in Wallet.” That recap does not name the 13 states, and neither of the two support documents checked for this article lists them either; both point readers to a separate page for the full list rather than enumerating it inline.
A passport can now become a Digital ID, too
| Wallet identity feature | What it needs |
|---|---|
| Driver’s license or state ID | Select US states and territories; accepted at eligible US airports and TSA checkpoints |
| Digital ID | Built from a US passport; Apple’s January 2026 recap describes it for TSA checkpoint use |
| My Number Card (Japan) | Requires the Mynaportal app, Face ID or Touch ID, and two-factor authentication on the Apple Account |
| Boarding passes | Apple’s recap adds Live Activities for flight tracking alongside Maps and Find My |
The Digital ID built from a passport is a separate feature from a state driver’s license, and Apple’s recap keeps the two apart rather than folding one into the other’s requirements.
Why the requirement differs by state
Apple has not published a reason for the spread between iOS 16.5, 17.5 and 18.1. The most likely explanation, based on the pattern in Apple’s own documents rather than any statement from Apple, is that each state’s rollout locks to whichever iOS build was current when that state’s own digital ID system went live, and the requirement is never lowered afterward. That is our reading of the pattern, not a claim Apple has made.
The practical effect is the same regardless of the cause: a resident of a state added early can use ID in Wallet on an older iPhone than a resident of a state, or territory, added more recently, even though both are using the same feature name in the same app.
What Apple has not said
- The complete current list of participating states and territories; both support documents checked here point elsewhere for it rather than listing it themselves.
- Any country beyond Japan for an international ID in Wallet.
- Whether any state’s requirement will ever be lowered rather than only raised for new additions.
- Whether ID in Wallet will ever require iOS 27 specifically; nothing in the documents checked names it.
Today is Sunday, September 13, 2026. iOS 27 arrives free tomorrow, Monday, September 14, but based on Apple’s own documents, it changes nothing about which iOS version Wallet’s ID feature itself requires in any given state.
