mDL (ISO 18013-5)
An mDL, or mobile driving licence, is a driving licence stored and presented from a smartphone, built to the ISO/IEC 18013-5 standard so any conforming reader can accept it regardless of who issued it.
ISO 18013-5 defines two ways to present an mDL: offline over Bluetooth, NFC or a QR code straight to a nearby reader such as a car rental kiosk, and online over the internet to a remote relying party, both using end-to-end session encryption so the holder controls exactly which fields are shared. The EUDI Wallet uses the same standard for its driving licence credential, so an mDL issued as part of a EUDI Wallet works with any reader already deployed for ISO 18013-5. The credential itself, called an mdoc, is a set of namespaced data elements such as name, date of birth, licence category and expiry date, each individually signed inside a mobile security object, so a reader can request and verify only the fields it needs, for example just an over-18 flag at a shop till rather than the full record. Presentation starts with device engagement: the phone shows a QR code or exchanges a short message over NFC or Bluetooth Low Energy to agree session keys before any data element crosses the connection, and the request itself carries the reader's certificate so the holder can see who is asking and for what before approving it. A companion specification, ISO 18013-7, extends the same mdoc format to unattended online verification, letting a website request an mDL over the internet through an OpenID4VP profile instead of a physical reader, using the identical data model and security object as the offline path. mDL adoption has moved fastest in the United States, and it is the reference format the EUDI Wallet's own driving licence attestation now follows in Europe.
Related terms
Can an mDL be used outside the country that issued it?
Yes, provided the reader also implements ISO 18013-5. The standard defines a common data format and presentation protocol independent of who issued the credential, so a rental car kiosk or border checkpoint built to the standard can read an mDL from any conforming issuer, the same cross-border interoperability the EUDI Wallet relies on for its own driving licence credential across every member state.