National Identity Proofing Guidelines

The National Identity Proofing Guidelines 2025 provide broad, best practice guidance for identity proofing – establishing a person is who they say they are. The Guidelines align, where possible, with Digital ID Accreditation Rules to increase consistency in identity proofing for both physical and digital ID. They strengthen identity-proofing processes and increase trust through a standardised, transparent, national principles and risk-based approach. The Guidelines are voluntary. Compliance is encouraged but not mandatory.

Public and private sector organisations should apply the recommended identity proofing practices in line with their circumstances and specific risk profile. The Guidelines enable a greater range of identity verification processes to be conducted online, supporting systems such as the national identity verification services. These systems increase the confidence that organisations have in the validity of an identity document and reduces the need to keep copies of individual’s identity documents. This results in significant cost savings, promotes privacy, lessens the impact of data breaches and maintains strong controls against identity fraud.