This report offers best practices for public agencies implementing digital identity verification, emphasizing privacy, equity, and security in the delivery of government services.
Digital IDs can improve convenience, but they risk surveillance, data misuse, and exclusion if not designed with privacy, security, and accessibility safeguards.
Created for use in the Digital Doorways research project, this design stimuli shows the steps of submitting an application, sharing personal information, and verifying identity for New York's integrated online application that includes SNAP and Medicaid.
An overview video describing the Digital Identity Risk Management process outlined in NIST's Digital Identity Guidelines, which organizations can use to develop a risk-based approach to identity management.
The Department of Homeland Security's Biometric and Identity Technology Center (BI-TC) has hosted Biometric Technology Rallies to test new and emerging biometric technologies since 2018. This website hosts information about the 2022 and 2023 rallies.
These guidelines provide technical requirements for federal agencies implementing digital identity services and are not intended to constrain the development or use of standards outside of this purpose. This guideline focuses on the enrollment and verification of an identity for use in digital authentication.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
The Benefits Enrollment Field Guide looks at the landscape of America’s safety net benefits experience in 2023 and tracks the differences from our 2019 assessment based on expanded evaluation criteria. It also highlights successful paths to equitable, human-centered experiences. It examines online enrollment for Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and WIC.
This piece highlights promising design patterns for account creation and identity proofing in public benefits applications. The publication also identifies areas where additional evidence, resources, and coordinated federal guidance may help support equitable implementations of authentication and identity proofing, enabling agencies to balance access and security.