743 VIEWS
Pinterest LinkedIn LINE

What Is GOV.UK Wallet?

GOV.UK Wallet is a digital document management app under development by the UK government. It was revealed in the context of digital driving licences on January 2112, and its details were announced on February 5, 2025 by Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology3. The announcement was made as part of the UK government’s digitalization initiative and aims to introduce a new app that lets people carry digital versions of identity documents on their smartphones. The app will allow government-issued documents to be stored securely on a smartphone and presented when needed4.

Its main features are as follows:

  1. Secure storage of government-issued digital documents
  2. Can be used to prove age, identity, and eligibility for services
  3. Can be used in the same way as paper or physical cards
  4. Non-government-issued documents, such as train or concert tickets, cannot be added
  5. Use is optional

GOV.UK Wallet is scheduled to launch during 2025. The first document to become available will be the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card, followed by other government documents such as driving licences5.

For security, access will require GOV.UK One Login, preventing others from using or accessing the documents. It also plans to use security features such as facial recognition technology built into smartphones6.

What Is GOV.UK One Login?

GOV.UK One Login is an online authentication system provided by the UK government. It allows users to access multiple government services with a single account. Its main features are as follows:

  1. Access to multiple government services using a single email address and password7
  2. Enhanced security through two-factor authentication8
  3. Identity verification functionality to confirm users’ identities
  4. Simplified and more efficient access to government services

GOV.UK One Login is currently available only for some government services, but it is expected eventually to be available for all GOV.UK services9. Available services include applying for a veteran card, applying for import and export licences, and applying for qualified teacher status.

Users can manage their information and review the services they have used through GOV.UK One Login5. They can also choose either text message or an authenticator app as the method for receiving security codes6.

GOV.UK One Login is provided by the Government Digital Service (GDS), with the Cabinet Office acting as data controller10. The system is intended to improve user convenience and simplify access to government services.

The GOV.UK Login Protocol

GOV.UK One Login is a service compliant with OpenID Connect (OIDC)1112. OpenID Connect is an authentication layer built on the OAuth 2.0 protocol and extends OAuth 2.0 to provide authentication information in a standardized manner.

Specifically, GOV.UK One Login has the following features:

  1. OpenID Connect compliance: It uses the OIDC protocol for user authentication and attribute sharing.
  2. Authentication flow: It implements the standard OAuth 2.0/OIDC authorization code flow. This includes the following steps:
    • /authorize authorization request to the endpoint
    • Issuance of an authorization code
    • Token exchange at the /token endpoint
    • Obtaining an ID token and access token
    • Obtaining user information from the /userinfo endpoint
  3. Enhanced security: It uses JWT-secured OAuth 2.0 Authorization Request (JAR)13 to improve the security of authentication request parameters.

As an aside, I am the lead author of both OpenID Connect and JAR, so this is extremely gratifying.

Footnotes

  1. Digital driving licence coming this year
  2. Nikkei FinTech: UK government digitizes driving licences using the digital wallet “GOV.UK Wallet”
  3. Digital passport among the IDs to become available in the new GOV.UK Wallet app
  4. ［UK］ Digital driving licence to become available during 2025
  5. GOV.UK Wallet
  6. UK government digitizes driving licences using the digital wallet “GOV.UK Wallet”
  7. About GOV.UK One Login
  8. Signing users in
  9. Using your GOV.UK One Login
  10. Privacy Notice
  11. Sakimura, et al. OpenID Connect Core 1.0
  12. How GOV.UK One Login works
  13. Sakimura, et al. JWT-secured OAuth 2.0 Authorization Request (JAR) (RFC9101)

Related posts