Driver license proof of age

Overview

A driver license credential is issued to a wallet. When age verification is required, the holder discloses only the proof needed for the transaction, such as 18+ status, not their address or license number.

The verifier does not need to inspect or copy a full license. It needs a trustworthy answer to a narrow eligibility question.

Why it matters

Many age checks over-collect data. Retailers and venues often see address, license number, date of birth, and other details when they only need to know whether the person meets an age threshold.

Verifiable Credentials create a cleaner model:

• the transport authority issues a trusted license credential
• the driver stores it in a wallet
• the verifier requests only the age proof needed
• issuer trust and credential status are checked before accepting the proof

This supports privacy while still giving retailers and venues a defensible compliance decision.

Ecosystem roles

• Issuer: Transport authority or motor registry issuing the license credential.
• Holder: Driver storing the credential in a wallet.
• Verifier: Retailer, venue, or service checking age eligibility.
• Trust governance: The rules that define accepted license issuers, selective disclosure format, status checks, and fallback evidence.

Trust decision

The verifier decision is narrow: does this person meet the required age threshold right now?

The verifier should not need to know the person’s address, license number, full date of birth, or unrelated license attributes unless a separate policy requires them.

Privacy and assurance

Selective disclosure is the primary privacy control. The holder can present an age proof while withholding unrelated claims.

Assurance depends on checking issuer trust, proof integrity, credential status, expiry, and whether the disclosed claim satisfies the local threshold, such as 18+.

Implementation notes

• Use selective disclosure so age eligibility can be proven without exposing a full license record.
• Define verifier behavior for expired, suspended, revoked, or unsupported license credentials.
• Keep audit records focused on the verification result, not unnecessary personal data.
• Provide fallback handling where digital license credentials are not yet available.

Objective

Prove age eligibility using a driver license Verifiable Credential.

Description

Present a selective disclosure proof that confirms age without revealing address or license number.

Actors

Transport authority; driver; retailer, venue, or age-restricted service.

Dependencies

Selective disclosure support, accepted issuer registry, verifier policy, and credential status endpoint.

Preconditions

The driver holds a valid driver license credential in a supported wallet.

Postconditions

Age is verified, denied, or escalated without exposing unnecessary license data.

flowchart LR
    TRANS@{icon: "tabler:car", label: "Transport authority", pos: "b"} -->|Issues license VC| WAL@{icon: "tabler:wallet", label: "Wallet", pos: "b"}
    WAL -->|Present age proof| VER@{icon: "tabler:building-store", label: "Retailer / venue", pos: "b"}
    VER -->|Check status| REG@{icon: "tabler:book", label: "Registry/status", pos: "b"}

sequenceDiagram
    participant Authority as Transport authority
    participant Wallet
    participant Driver
    participant Verifier as Retailer / venue
    participant Registry as Registry/status

    Authority-->>Wallet: Issue driver license VC
    Driver->>Verifier: Request purchase or entry
    Verifier->>Wallet: Request age proof
    Wallet->>Wallet: Create SD-JWT age proof
    Wallet-->>Verifier: Present selective disclosure proof (SD-JWT)
    Verifier->>Registry: Validate issuer and status
    Registry-->>Verifier: Valid
    Verifier-->>Driver: Allow or deny