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Government and Public Services

Public institutions are authoritative sources for many identity attributes, permits, licences, benefits, and eligibility decisions. At the same time, public-service users are often asked to resubmit the same documents across agencies and programs.

UbID can support a governed model in which public institutions issue or verify portable evidence while limiting repeated collection, unrestricted database access, and unnecessary disclosure.

The problem​

Public-service identity journeys commonly involve:

  • repeated submission of civil identity documents;
  • manual verification across agencies;
  • dependence on one portal or one database;
  • disclosure of full records to prove a narrow eligibility condition;
  • long-lived document copies distributed across many systems;
  • difficulty explaining which authority issued a claim and whether it remains current;
  • accessibility and continuity challenges for people who lose a device or cannot use one channel.

A verifiable credential can transport an authoritative public claim without giving every verifier direct access to the issuer's internal systems.

Participants​

  • Public issuer — an authorized government department, municipality, agency, registry, or delegated public body.
  • Citizen, resident, organization, or representative — the holder of the credential.
  • Public or private verifier — a service that is authorized to request the evidence.
  • Policy authority — the body that defines legal purpose, eligibility, issuer trust, and acceptance conditions.

Public-service credential examples​

A governed public-sector profile may represent:

  • age or residency eligibility;
  • a permit or licence;
  • professional or organizational authorization;
  • entitlement to a service or program;
  • registration or good-standing status;
  • delegated authority to act for another person or organization;
  • a verified attribute derived from an official record.

UbID does not require all public information to be converted into credentials. The use case should be justified by portability, minimisation, efficiency, or interoperability.

Example trust flow​

  1. The public institution establishes the applicant's identity and eligibility under its legal process.
  2. The institution issues a credential containing the minimum approved claims.
  3. The holder stores the credential under their control.
  4. A service requests a defined proof for a declared purpose.
  5. The holder reviews and authorizes the presentation.
  6. The verifier checks issuer authority, integrity, status, context, and disclosed claims.
  7. The verifier applies its own service or eligibility policy and records proportionate evidence.

Cross-agency trust without unrestricted access​

A credential can reduce the need for every agency to query every other agency's database. The verifier receives signed evidence and status information rather than broad access to the source system.

This separation supports clearer accountability:

  • the issuer is responsible for the claim;
  • the holder controls presentation;
  • the verifier is responsible for its request and decision;
  • the platform provides exchange, verification, security, and evidence mechanisms.

Privacy, rights, and accessibility​

Public deployments require strong safeguards:

  • request only the attributes necessary for the service;
  • avoid universal correlation identifiers across unrelated agencies;
  • explain the purpose and recipient of each presentation;
  • provide correction, challenge, and appeal procedures;
  • preserve non-digital or assisted alternatives where required;
  • define retention for presentations and verification evidence;
  • separate public-service eligibility from unrelated surveillance or profiling;
  • support continuity when a device is lost, replaced, or inaccessible.

UbID can complement official identity systems, registries, electronic signatures, and public key infrastructure. It does not declare itself a national identity, replace statutory documents, or create legal recognition that has not been granted by the relevant authority.

A public-sector deployment must define precisely which credentials are official, which issuers are authorized, where the credential may be accepted, and what legal or administrative effect a successful verification has.

UbID product composition​

  • UbID Proof supports identity and document assurance.
  • UbID Credential Cloud issues permits, attributes, and eligibility credentials.
  • UbID Wallet supports holder-controlled custody and presentation.
  • UbID Access supports secure service access.
  • UbID Connect enables interoperability across trust domains.
  • UbID Recover supports guarded continuity.
  • UbID Pulse supports operational accountability.

Public documentation boundary​

Public documentation does not publish citizen records, agency-specific rules, registry integrations, protected endpoints, fraud controls, signing configuration, or internal decision logic.

See also Privacy by Design, Data Minimisation, and Regulatory Alignment.