You have most probably seen in recent headlines that Andy Burnham has scrapped the UK digital ID scheme. This has caused some understandable confusion as some reports have created the impression that digital identity verification, digital Right to Work checks and the development of the GOV.UK Wallet have all been abandoned completely, but that is not the case.
The proposed national digital ID scheme has been dropped, but it was only ever one part of the UK’s wider digital identity landscape. The GOV.UK Wallet, GOV.UK One Login and certified private-sector digital verification services are separate initiatives which continue to move forward.
If you are a regulated business, employer or landlord, secure digital identity verification remains an important way to verify people, reduce fraud and make your customer and employee onboarding more efficient.
What happened to the UK Digital ID Scheme?
In September 2025, the Labour government announced plans for a national digital ID that would be stored on a person’s phone. The original proposal presented this as a mandatory way for people to prove their Right to Work in the UK, while also suggesting it could make it easier to access government and private-sector services.
However, this mandatory element quickly attracted much criticism over privacy, surveillance, data security and digital exclusion. Plans were soon softened to a voluntary service focused more on convenience and access to public services.
Recently appointed Andy Burnham has now decided not to proceed with the national digital ID scheme introduced under Keir Starmer.
However, reports that cancelling the scheme will produce significant savings require some context. The Institute for Government has pointed out that the proposal was not included in the Labour manifesto or funded in the Spending Review. Its design and technical details were also still being developed, meaning the project had not reached the stage of building and rolling out a fully operational national digital ID system.
Therefore, what has been scrapped is the specific proposal to introduce a new government-issued national digital identity document. It does not mean that all forms of digital identity verification in the UK have been stopped; actually, far from it.
Has digital identity verification been scrapped?
No. Digital identity verification has not been scrapped in the UK.
Private digital verification services are already widely used across the country. They allow businesses to verify a person’s identity, credentials or eligibility remotely without relying on a visual inspection of a passport, driving licence or other physical ID document.
This is particularly valuable when transactions are completed online. Manual document checks can be easily forged; documents can be altered; images can be impersonated; and increasingly sophisticated forms of identity fraud can occur.
The government has established a regulatory structure for trusted digital verification services through the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 and the UK Digital Verification Services Trust Framework, previously known as the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework, or DIATF.
The trust framework sets requirements covering information security, data protection, privacy, technical standards, inclusivity and the way digital identity checks are completed. It allows businesses and individuals to identify providers whose services have been independently assessed against government standards.
Is the GOV.UK wallet still going ahead?
Yes. The GOV.UK Wallet remains a separate government programme and is continuing to move forward.
In VSiD’s ongoing meetings with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA) and Government Digital Services (GDS), it has been confirmed that work on the digital wallet is continuing.
The GOV.UK Wallet is designed to let people securely save government-issued digital documents (Driver Licence / Passport) and other personal information on their phone and share them when they need to prove information such as their identity, age or eligibility for a service.
In fact, a digital version of the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card can already be saved using the GOV.UK One Login app. The government has confirmed that further documents, including the digital driving licence, will be added in the future. The longer-term direction also includes allowing people to use digital credentials based on other government-issued documents, including passport information.
According to current GOV. UK Wallet guidance, use of the wallet will be entirely optional. If you cannot or do not want to use a digital wallet, you will still be able to use traditional ways to prove your identity.
The wallet is intended to give people in the UK more control over how their information is shared. Instead of repeatedly sending photographs or copies of valuable identity documents, a person could choose to share a verified credential containing only the information required for a particular transaction.
What is the difference between digital ID and the GOV.UK Wallet?
Although these terms are frequently used interchangeably, the proposed national digital ID and the GOV.UK Wallet should not be confused with each other.
The national digital ID was intended to be a new government-issued identity document containing personal information such as a name, date of birth, photograph and nationality or residency status. It was initially proposed as a mandatory way to prove a person’s Right to Work before being repositioned as a voluntary service.
The GOV.UK Wallet is an application through which people will be able to store and share digital versions of existing government-issued documents and credentials. It does not itself introduce a new national identity card.
GOV.UK One Login is another separate service. It provides a single account through which people can sign in to participating government services and will be used to access documents held within the wallet.
Digital verification services provided by certified private companies form another part of the system. These services can verify a person’s identity or an attribute about them, such as their age or Right to Work, and provide that result to a business with the individual’s permission.
In the future, registered providers will act as trusted agents between the GOV.UK Wallet and private-sector organisations. This will allow people to share authoritative government-held information securely without multiple inspections of the same physical documents independently.
What does the decision mean for digital right to work and rent checks?
The decision to scrap the national digital ID scheme does not remove an employer’s responsibility to establish that a prospective employee has the Right to Work in the UK.
Existing digital Right to Work processes also remain available. Certified Identity Service Providers can carry out digital identity checks for eligible British and Irish citizens using valid passports or Irish passport cards. Online Home Office checks continue to apply to many people with an eVisa or other digital immigration status.
The important difference is that employers will not be required to check a new national digital ID card as originally proposed. They must still complete an appropriate Right to Work check using one of the accepted routes and retain the necessary evidence.
VSiD’s certified identity verification service is listed on the government’s Digital Verification Services Register for both Right to Work and Right to Rent checks. Allowing employers to conduct eligible checks through a service independently certified against the relevant identity profile and supplementary codes.
What does it mean for regulated businesses?
For conveyancers, lenders, accountants, insurers and other regulated bodies, the need to establish who is behind a remote transaction has not changed.
Digital identity verification can support faster customer onboarding while reducing the risks associated with accepting copies or photographs of identity documents by email. It can also help build more consistent verification processes and maintain a clearer record of the checks completed during a transaction.
There are no current plans to make digital identity verification compulsory across every type of transaction. Customers will generally retain the option to show a physical document where an appropriate manual route is available.
However, as more and more transactions move online and fraudulent documents become more sophisticated, secure digital methods are likely to become the preferred option for both businesses and their customers. A digital process can do more than confirm that an identity document looks genuine. It can combine document authentication, biometric face mapping, liveness detection and fraud intelligence to establish that the document belongs to the person presenting it for greater peace of mind.
VSiD’s new app will make this process easier for regulated businesses, employers and their end users. The app can be branded for individual clients and will guide users through the required identity checks while allowing them to follow the progress of their wider transaction.
A key part of the new app will be biometric reverification. For example, a conveyancer or lender may verify a customer when they initially apply and then reverify the same person before completion. This helps confirm that the individual completing the transaction is the person originally verified, without requiring them to repeat the entire identity-checking process.
Why certified digital verification providers still matter
A Digital Verification Service Provider cannot simply connect to the GOV.UK Wallet because it offers identity verification software.
Providers must meet the government’s requirements and be listed on the Digital Verification Services Register. Their relevant services must be independently certified against the UK Digital Verification Services Trust Framework, previously called the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework.
This matters because government-held information can only be shared for identity or eligibility verification under strict conditions. The individual must initiate or consent to the sharing, and the information must be provided through a registered digital verification service like VSiD that follows the applicable government rules.
OfDIA guidance explains that registered private-sector providers will become critical intermediaries, allowing people to share information from the GOV.UK Wallet securely and create reusable digital credentials.
At VSiD, we are a certified Digital Verification Service Provider and appear on the public government register. Our QES (Qualified Electronic Signature) service is certified at the High H1A identity profile and against the supplementary codes for Right to Work and Right to Rent and provides the ability to reverify an individual’s identity or eSignature, remotely or in-person, on demand.
As one of a limited number of providers with the necessary certification and technical capability, we are well positioned to help regulated businesses use government-issued digital credentials as they become available.
It’s important to note that certification does not replace a business’s wider legal, regulatory or data protection obligations. It does, however, provide independent assurance that the digital verification service meets defined government standards for establishing and sharing identity information.
How VSiD supports secure digital transactions
The UK’s proposed national digital ID may have been scrapped, but the move towards secure digital transactions has not. GOV.UK Wallet development, the Digital Verification Services Trust Framework and private-sector identity verification are continuing to create a more trusted way to interact online.
If you are a regulated business, the priority is now ensuring your process provides sufficient confidence that the person is genuine, the evidence is authentic, and the transaction remains secure from onboarding through to completion.
If you would like to find out how VSiD’s OneConnect and ID Validate applications can support secure identity verification, biometric reverification, eSignatures and digital onboarding, contact the VSiD team to arrange a demonstration.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has the UK digital ID scheme been scrapped?
Yes. Andy Burnham has decided not to proceed with the proposed national digital ID scheme introduced under Keir Starmer. However, the decision does not scrap the GOV.UK Wallet, GOV.UK One Login or private digital identity verification services.
Is digital identity verification being scrapped in the UK?
No. Certified private-sector digital verification services continue to operate in the UK. The government is also continuing to develop the regulatory and technical infrastructure needed to support trusted digital verification across the economy.
Is the GOV.UK Wallet still going ahead?
Yes. Work on the GOV.UK Wallet is continuing. The wallet will allow people to save and share government-issued digital documents and credentials from their phone.
What is the difference between digital ID and GOV.UK Wallet?
The cancelled digital ID scheme would have created a new national identity document. GOV.UK Wallet is an optional app designed to store digital versions of existing government-issued documents and credentials.
Will digital identity verification be compulsory?
There are no plans to make digital identity verification compulsory for every transaction. Physical and assisted alternatives will remain important, although individual sectors may require particular checks or evidence to meet legal and regulatory obligations.
Can I still use a physical passport to prove my identity?
Yes. Physical documents will continue to be accepted through applicable verification routes. A digital version of passport information held in a wallet would not replace the physical passport required for international travel.
Are digital Right to Work checks still continuing?
Yes. Existing digital Right to Work checks remain available. The cancellation of the national digital ID scheme does not remove employers’ responsibilities or discontinue the existing Home Office and certified provider routes.
What is a Digital Verification Service Provider?
A Digital Verification Service Provider supplies technology that verifies a person’s identity or specific attributes about them. Registered services are independently certified against the government’s trust framework and listed on the public Digital Verification Services Register.
Why does DIATF certification matter?
Certification demonstrates that a service has been independently assessed against government standards covering areas such as privacy, information security and identity verification. The framework formerly known as DIATF is now called the UK Digital Verification Services Trust Framework.
Can a digital identity check be reused?
Some digital identity systems can create reusable or reverifiable credentials. VSiD’s biometric reverification technology allows a person’s identity to be confirmed again later in a transaction without requiring them to repeat the full initial process.
How can regulated businesses verify customers online?
Regulated businesses can use a certified digital verification provider to combine identity document authentication with biometric, liveness and fraud checks. Depending on their obligations, they may also need KYC, AML, PEP, sanctions, source of funds or other due diligence checks.
