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BritCard

Overview

The UK digital identity card, often referred to as the BritCard, is a proposed feature of the planned GOV.UK Wallet mobile application that will help adults living in the UK to prove their identity in day-to-day situations.

A UK citizen or lawful resident will be able to prove specific elements of their identity – such as name, age, address, or immigration status – by displaying them securely using a dedicated "Identity" feature in the GOV.UK Wallet app. The system will also offer automated tools, such as QR codes and contactless transmission, to make identity verification faster.

How BritCard will work

BritCard will operate using the identity data managed by the Government and currently accessible through GOV.UK One Login. An active GOV.UK One Login account would be required to access BritCard. While UK citizens and lawful residents are already able to create a GOV.UK One Login using their biometric passport or a UK driving licence, the Government is working to develop alternative methods for those without these documents.

BritCard is intended to provide a standardised form of identification in dealings with government agencies, courts, law enforcement, and local authorities. It could also be used to confirm age for regulated transactions, such as the purchase of alcohol or lottery tickets. 

The initial rollout is expected to focus on non-UK passport holders, who would be required to prove their identity using a BritCard when entering into employment contracts. This measure has been proposed as a way of addressing unlawful employment and discouraging irregular migration.

Over time, BritCard will complement and possibly replace a wide range of identification practices and documents currently in use, such as passports, driving licences, birth certificates, council tax bills, utility bills, bank statements, credit records, reference letters, and proof-of-age cards. Regulated businesses, such as lenders and mobile operators, will be required to use the app when verifying a customer's identity before issuing products such as loans, credit cards, or mobile contracts. This is expected to bring about a significant reduction in identity fraud.

Additional functions

More advanced capabilities of the GOV.UK Wallet under consideration include the app's use as:

• driving licence

• professional certificates and licences

• voter eligibility document

• international travel document

• electronic signature device

These features would align the GOV.UK Wallet app with the eIDAS 2.0 digital identity framework being rolled out across the European Union, offering people living in the UK access to modern identity-centred services while ensuring that their data is stored in the UK.

Security and governance

While some people expressed concerns about privacy and the potential for misuse, the BritCard will not create new datasets or collect new personal data. Rather, it will serve as a single authentication and presentation method for its holder to access the information already held about them by various government agencies.

The holder will always be able to control which personal details are shared by the app, how and with whom.

The Government has stated that transparency will be a guiding principle, and the app’s source code will be published to allow independent scrutiny.