The truth is that you’re legally required to present your driver’s license during any traffic stop. In some cases, police officers can actually pull you over just to complete a license check. Long story short: You must have your driver’s license with you any time you’re driving. You can get a ticket for simply forgetting it. In practice, drivers rarely have to pay a ticket simply for forgetting their license. And there’s one life hack that can make a traffic stop go much smoother if you do forget your license.

Most states differentiate between forgetting your license at home and driving without owning a valid driver’s license at all. Even so, forgetting your license is illegal. In most states, not having your license on your person is still a misdemeanor criminal offense. But in California, it’s a traffic violation that could lead to your car being impounded. Illinois could even suspend your license just for forgetting it at home.

Will that happen? No. Most likely, if a police officer pulls you over and can’t find evidence you have a license at all, they’ll want to make certain you are unlicensed or driving with a suspended license. In this case, they can issue a fix-it ticket, which goes away once you prove you had a valid driver’s license you forgot. At worst, you may have to go to court to present your license. But there might be a shortcut.

The life hack in case you forget your driver’s license at home

Take a picture of your driver’s license and save it in your phone’s favorites. You have a unique driver’s license number. Retired traffic cop David McNichols wrote on Quora that there’s a good chance a police officer can use this number to look up your license. If they can establish you have a valid driver’s license you forgot at home, your traffic stop will go much smoother.

McNichols warns, you don’t want to treat the police officer in a “dismissive way.” For example, saying “I don’t have my driver’s license, but that’s okay, I’ll give you the number and you can just look it up, right?” might rub them the wrong way.

McNichols suggested you try, “I’m sorry officer, I don’t have my license with me, my vehicle is registered in my name (my mother’s name, my friend’s name) and I do have this other way to show you who I am (photo ID of another source).” Then you can offer your driver’s license number as a way to make their job easier.

If you live in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, or Puerto Rico, there may be an even easier method. These states have collaborated with Apple to add their driver’s licenses to the Apple Wallet in your iPhone. Many of these states also collaborate with Google Wallet. Louisiana, Virginia, Iowa, and New York are unique in that they’ve rolled out their own proprietary Mobile ID app that drivers can download if they want.