ADVP leveling up in 2026 as it aims to lead the narrative on UK digital identity

The Association of Digital Verification Professionals (ADVP) has released its 2025 AGM Report, reflecting on a year of significant change and growth for the organization as it takes a vocal stance on plans for a UK digital identity.

“2025 came in fast and changed the game,” says the report. “ADVP tripled in size. We now represent the majority of certified DVS Providers on the government register – with more due to join us in 2026.”

Digital Verification Service (DVS) providers are certified under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) – per the government website, “the set of rules and standards that show what a good digital identity looks like.” While the DIATF has established a pool of trustworthy digital identity providers in the private sector, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s digital identity push has thrown their role into question.

In response, the ADVP has calibrated its efforts to focus on arguing that, if the UK is to have national digital identity, the best way to implement it is through certified DVS providers. Under new chair David Crack, the organization has worked to bring the issue to the political forefront – most recently as a guest on the Biometric Update Podcast, for a debate with Alexander Iosad of the Tony Blair Institute, which favors a government-led digital ID program.

In leading with wins, the AGM report says that “the big news for 2025 is Government’s flagship and world leading Data (Use and Access) Act has now come into force. Developed with all party support across both Tory and Labour administrations, congratulations must go to the folk at Office of Digital Identity and Attributes (OfDIA) for their perseverance over years to get this legalisation on the books.”

The Data (Use and Access) Act establishes a legal basis for the UK’s digital identity verification framework and governance, and for OfDIA itself, as the body overseeing the DVS Trust Framework. The report does not take long to return to its core theme: “And while Government Ministers are not yet ready to champion their world-leading DVS Trust Framework, used this year for over 2 billion digital verification checks, the ADVP will.”

Faster, cheaper and more popular: ‘Britain wants the DVS Trust Framework’

The ADVP’s position is based on a couple of major assertions. One is that using providers that are already certified and set up for digital identity will be infinitely faster and cheaper than trying to build a government-centric program from the ground up. The other is that the UK public is fundamentally opposed to a state-controlled digital identity.

“The public message is clear: Britain wants the DVS Trust Framework,” says the report, calling it “a proper British innovation, built on the spirit of common law. It’s something we should all feel proud of. It takes the idea of liberty and turns it into digital reality – letting people reuse verified information safely, under their own control, while giving businesses the confidence to trust it.”

To get where it wants to go, the ADVP has made its strategic goal for 2026 “to establish the ADVP as the trusted, ready-to-go partner for rolling out the UK’s digital ID and personal data infrastructure.”

“Following the government’s lead, away from the headlines, we will work with regulators and other industry bodies to help transform the mechanisms of state so that they respond and work for the citizens they serve – not the other way round.”

In this, the group aims to leverage its reputation as a trusted partner of the government that doesn’t shake the boat unnecessarily. It will be something of a balancing act for the organization to maintain that insider status while advocating loudly for certified DVS providers. But the group believes it can deliver value to its stakeholders by building “greater influence across Government and Regulators” and act as “the focal point for a coordinated market response.”

New Executive Group to help advance agenda

In effect, the ADVP is looking to tell the story of the DIATF and its evolution – to the government, the media and the public – in a way that frames it as the obvious choice. Under David Crack, it has started to do so in earnest. And entering 2026, it will enlist a fresh Executive Group to help move the process forward. The AGM Report introduces “ADVP 2.0,” which brings on Colum Lyons of ID-Pal/Northrow as vice chair and Rob Alison of Security Watchdog as treasurer. Committee members now include David Rennie from Orchestrating Identity, Julie Dawson from Yoti, Nick Ledingham from Credas and Tony Machin of TrustID/Citation. Alan Gooden is the group’s liaison officer.

On its LinkedIn page, the ADVP sums up its position. “Using existing legislation, we can deliver the Government’s identity agenda faster, safer, and at low cost – including sharper tools to detect illegal working. We’re already rolled out. We’re already delivering.”

Whether the government agrees is another story.

Article Topics

ADVP  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF)  |  digital verification service (DVS)  |  UK digital ID