Verifiable credentials

Verifiable credentials:
data that carries its own proof.

A verifiable credential is a digital version of something you already rely on, like a driver’s license, a passport, an employee badge or a bank’s identity check, signed by the organization that issued it. Anyone who trusts that organization can confirm the credential is genuine and unchanged, without contacting the issuer or keeping a copy of the data.

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How it works

How does a verifiable credential work?

Every verifiable credential involves three roles: the organization that knows the facts, the person the facts are about, and whoever needs to rely on them.

1

Issue

An organization that already knows the facts, such as a government, bank, airline or employer, puts them in a credential and signs it.

2

Hold

The person keeps the credential in a digital wallet on their phone. They decide when to share it and with whom, and can share only the details a request needs.

3

Verify

The organization receiving it checks the issuer’s signature and the credential’s status. If anything has been altered, the check fails. No call to the issuer, no re-collecting documents.

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Why it matters

What are verifiable credentials good for?

Stopping forged and altered documents

A photo of an ID can be edited. A verifiable credential is tamper-evident: change a single detail and the signature no longer checks out, so the verifier knows.

Holding less personal data

Selective disclosure lets a person prove they are over 21 without revealing their birth date or address. Organizations collect only what they need and have less to store, secure and lose in a breach.

Checking once, reusing many times

An identity check done once, at a bank, an airline or an HR desk, can be issued as a credential and presented again wherever that issuer is trusted. Customers and employees stop repeating the same paperwork.

Proving what an AI agent is allowed to do

The same technology gives AI agents credentials that show who they act for and what they are authorized to do, and lets that authority be revoked.

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Where they’re used

Where are verifiable credentials used today?

Indicio builds verifiable credential solutions for travel, financial services, government, the workforce and AI. Choose a sector to see how they work there.

Travel and bordersDigital Travel Credentials built to the ICAO standard let travelers share passport-verified data with airlines and border agencies before they arrive.Learn more → Banking and KYCTurn a completed identity check into a reusable credential, so customers onboard once and fraud teams get data they can trust.Learn more → Government and the EUDI WalletIssue and accept credentials that align with eIDAS 2.0 and the EU Digital Identity Wallet.Learn more → Mobile driver’s licensesAccept mDLs and other mdocs in person and online, under ISO/IEC 18013-5 and 18013-7.Learn more → WorkforceGive employees and contractors credentials for building access, passwordless sign-in and proof of qualifications.Learn more → Agentic AIGive AI agents verifiable identity and delegated authority that people and systems can check.Learn more →

Standards

Which credential formats and standards does Indicio support?

Indicio Proven issues, holds and verifies credentials in the major open-standard formats and protocols. Choose the format that fits your use case and your regulators, without replacing the systems you already run.

FAQ

Questions about verifiable credentials

What is a verifiable credential?

A verifiable credential is a digital record of facts about a person, organization, product or AI agent, signed by the organization that issued it. The signature lets anyone who trusts that issuer confirm the credential is genuine and has not been changed, without contacting the issuer.

How is a verifiable credential different from a scan or PDF of an ID?

A scan or PDF can be edited, and checking it means trusting your eyes or calling the issuer. A verifiable credential carries a cryptographic signature, so any change is detectable and the check is done by software rather than by inspection.

Do verifiable credentials need a blockchain?

No. Some credentials use a distributed ledger to publish the issuer’s public keys, as with did:indy. Others anchor trust in a web domain, as with did:webvh, or in X.509 certificates, as mobile driver’s licenses do. Personal data is not written to a ledger in any of these models.

Can a verifiable credential be revoked?

Yes. An issuer can revoke a credential, for example when an employee leaves or a license is suspended. Verifiers check a credential’s status as part of the verification, and Indicio Proven supports revocation through status lists.

Do verifiable credentials work offline?

They can. For in-person checks, the verifier confirms the issuer’s signature using keys it already holds, so it does not need a live connection to the issuer. Status information is as current as the verifier’s last update.

Which digital wallet do people need?

People can hold credentials in Holdr+, Indicio’s wallet app, or in your own app built with the Proven Mobile SDK. Because Indicio Proven follows open standards, credentials can also be held in other wallets that support the same formats and protocols.

How do verifiable credentials protect privacy?

The person holds their own credential and chooses what to share. With selective disclosure they can reveal a single fact, such as being over 18, without handing over the whole document, and organizations can rely on the data without storing copies of identity documents.

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Put verifiable credentials to work

Tell us what you need to issue, accept or check, and we’ll show you how it runs on Indicio Proven alongside the systems you already have.

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Verifiable credentials: data that carries its own proof.