Traditional identity verification and credential issuance can be a cumbersome process, often involving on-premise servers, manual updates and workflows that lead to backlogs.

In Arkansas, that is about to change.

Beginning in August 2026, the Arkansas Department of Motor Vehicles will deploy a modernized credential issuance system to eliminate backlogs, improve identity matching and make credentials more secure.

Replacing its legacy platform, the state is implementing ID2Issuance from IDEMIA Civil Identity, a longtime Arkansas partner. This cloud-native solution combines identity verification, including biometric matching, and credential issuance.

“With a cloud solution, you can do it all remotely. It’s easier, more cost-effective and helps keep everything continuously up to date.”
Cagney Jensen, Senior Director of Business Development, IDEMIA Civil Identity North America

“Most of our challenges involve the thresholds and being able to process the backlog of work items,” says Christy Earnhart, assistant division administrator, Department of Finance and Administration, Driver Services and Motor Vehicles.

Moving away from an on-premise system is an important part of that change. The previous platform relied on servers housed in state data centers, where updates required remote access or physical visits. “With a cloud solution, you can do it all remotely,” says Cagney Jensen, senior director of business development at IDEMIA Civil Identity North America. “It’s easier, more cost-effective and helps keep everything continuously up to date.”

The system also introduces more advanced identity matching, using IDEMIA’s facial recognition algorithms, which achieve 99.93% accuracy rates when tested by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The technology is designed to reduce bias in how identities are matched across race, gender and age.

“It allows the person to do either one-to-one comparisons against an individual’s existing record or one-to-many comparisons across the whole database,” Jensen says. “Along with case investigations and administrative oversight, it’s really the whole package.”

Once the new system is implemented, Earnhart says they “are hoping for a more current comparison versus the large number of older photos for some credential holders.”

Implementation is underway, including requirements gathering, system configuration and testing tailored to Arkansas’ needs. Once rolled out, the system can be configured to meet the state’s specific requirements, allowing Arkansas to adjust workflows, thresholds and review processes as needed. That flexibility is important for DMVs, where policies, compliance and operational demands can evolve over time.

The impact also extends beyond day-to-day operations. “We hope for a greater ability to work with Arkansas’ law enforcement as well as law enforcement from other states or federal agencies in an effort to help eliminate fraud,” Earnhart says.

The upgrade further strengthens the foundation for Arkansas’ broader digital identity efforts, supporting both physical credentials and mobile ID initiatives already in place.

“It’s really about setting Arkansas up for the future,” Jensen says. “The more you can move into the cloud and create systems that are easy to upgrade and scale, the more flexibility states have moving forward.”