About digital credentials

Your documents, on your phone.

A plain-language guide to digital credentials, the EU Digital Identity Wallet and what is happening in Ireland.

What is a digital credential?

A digital credential is the digital version of a card or document you already know: an ID card, a driving licence, a library card, a diploma. It lives in a wallet app on your phone.

The organisation that gives it to you signs it digitally. That signature lets anyone check that it is real and has not been changed, without having to phone the organisation that issued it.

Three roles. You in the middle.

Step 1

Issuer

Gives you the credential. For example a council, a university or a government department.

Step 2

You

Keep it in your wallet and decide when, and with whom, to share it.

Step 3

Verifier

Asks for proof. For example a library, a shop or a public service.

The issuer is not told when or where you use your credential. The verifier checks it directly, using the issuer's signature.

Share only what is needed.

With a plastic card you hand over everything on it. With a digital credential you share only what is asked for, and your wallet shows you the request first.

An example from this playground: to join the library you prove that you are over 16. The library gets “Over 16: Yes”. It does not see your date of birth, your address or anything else.

No more retyping your details into forms: your wallet fills them in with information that is already checked.

The EU Digital Identity Wallet.

Under a European law from 2024 (the European Digital Identity Regulation, often called eIDAS 2), every EU country must offer its citizens and residents at least one EU Digital Identity Wallet. The deadline is the end of 2026.

Free and voluntary. You choose whether to use it. Services must still be available without it.
Works across Europe. A wallet from one EU country is accepted in the others.
You stay in control. You see who is asking for what, and the wallet keeps a log of what you shared.
Verifiers must register. Organisations that want to ask for your data have to register and state what they will ask for.

What you will be able to use it for, over time:

✓Prove who you are, online and in person
✓Prove your age without showing your ID
✓Access public services and fill in applications
✓Open a bank account
✓Carry your driving licence
✓Share diplomas and qualifications
✓Sign documents electronically
✓Show health documents, such as your EHIC

Public services must accept the wallet once it is available. Banks and other businesses that need strong login checks must accept it by the end of 2027.

What is happening in Ireland.

Ireland's wallet is the Government Digital Wallet. It is built by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) as part of the Life Events programme. The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport leads the legislation needed for the EU rules.

April 2026
Public consultation and testing phase launched. The first pilot users were civil servants.
July 2026
Closed pilot opened to up to 10,000 invited testers aged 16 and over, signing in with a verified MyGovID.
October 2026
Over 10,000 sign-ups: pilot registrations are closed. Lessons go into the next version.
Next
A wider public release is planned, aiming for the end of 2026. No date has been announced yet.

The pilot tests a digital identity based on your MyGovID and:

proving who you are in person, for example at a counter;
proving your age online or in person (such as 16+, 18+ or 65+) without sharing your date of birth;
filling in online registration forms with verified details.

The government plans to add more documents over time, starting with the driving licence. A birth certificate, the European Health Insurance Card and the passport are also mentioned. Some of these need new legislation first.

Ireland is also one of seven EU countries piloting the EU age verification solution in its national wallet during 2026.

The government says the wallet is voluntary, and that your data is stored on your phone and is not tracked by the government.

About this playground.

This playground is not the Government Digital Wallet. It lets you try the same idea with demo credentials: nothing here is a real ID. You use it with the Paradym Wallet app (App Store, Google Play). It uses the same open standards as the EU Digital Identity Wallet framework (OpenID4VC, SD-JWT VC and mDoc).

Try issuing a credential Try a verification

Learn more.

Information checked on 9 November 2026. Plans and dates may change.