UK promises pubgoers will be able to prove age with digital IDs in 2026

A little more than a year ago, the UK government pledged to allow pubs and retail stores to accept mobile digital ID for proof of age for alcohol sales by Christmas 2025. Christmas, however, has passed, but British pubgoers are yet to experience digital age assurance.

The Home Office has now published a release pledging to implement digital credentials for age assurance this year, but with no firm timeline.

“This is a complex area of law, and it has not been possible to change the MLCs last year as had been planned,” says the announcement published on Wednesday. “The Home Office is working at pace with a view to making the changes as soon as possible this year.”

In order to allow digital verification services (DVS) to confirm legal drinking age for alcohol purchases in England and Wales, the government must change the Mandatory Licence Conditions (MLCs) under the Licensing Act 2003. The Home Office is currently considering which requirements are necessary to enable this, according to the announcement.

Among the requirements under consideration is certification against the Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) and whether the service can obtain a “medium-level” of confidence as defined in Good Practice Guide 45 (GPG45).

The government is also considering other issues: How can staff check the validity of the digital information to ensure it wasn’t tampered with and whether the digital identity is bound to the user at the point of issuance and at the point of presentation.

The industry has previously speculated that the law will likely be changed in the first or second quarter of 2026.

Article Topics

age verification  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  digital verification service (DVS)  |  UK  |  UK age verification  |  UK digital ID