UK guidance indicates only gov’t digital ID wallet will get primary credentials

An update to a webpage from the UK’s Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) providing guidance on using the GOV.UK Wallet for digital identity has revealed the launch of a testing sandbox. It has also touched a nerve with the UK’s private sector digital identity providers by implying that primary digital credentials will be available exclusively in the government-issued digital wallet.

The Age Verification Provider’s Association (AVPA) says in a LinkedIn post that the latest update to the guidance page indicates that certified digital verification service (DVS) providers will have access to only derived credentials, at least at first. Unless those derived credentials are recognized in law and regulation as equivalent to primary credentials like the planned digital or mobile driving license (mDL), their value will be limited.

If a DVS provider is certified as an identity or attribute service provider, the guidance says, it can use data from the GOV.UK Wallet in an attribute or identity verification.

“If they are also certified as a holder service, they could use information from GOV.UK Wallet to create a new reusable digital identity document. This is also known as a ‘derived credential’. It could either prove specific things like age, or contain a range of different identity or other eligibility information.”

Making primary credentials available exclusively through the government-issued digital identity wallet creates “a material risk of a two-tier system,” according to the AVPA.

The AVPA has previously stated that it is hopeful “legal options will not be required” and suggested privileging the government-issued digital ID wallet in this way violates the Subsidy Control Act 2022 by distorting the market.

Digital wallet sandbox opens

The update also adds a link for DVS providers to request access to the GOV.UK Wallet sandbox operated by OfDIA and the Government Digital Service.

The sandbox consists of a GOV.UK Wallet test app, a document builder and credential issuer and a certificate authority. It can be used to create a test mDL and test it with a verifier using the sharing mechanism.

As a non-production environment, the government notes the sandbox cannot be used for penetration testing or performance evaluations.

Article Topics

digital verification service (DVS)  |  digital wallets  |  GOV.UK Wallet  |  OfDIA  |  reusable digital ID  |  UK digital ID