Verifiable Credential Barcode
Verifiable Credential Barcode (VC Barcode).
A VC Barcode is a compact, digitally signed Verifiable Credential printed in a standard 2D barcode on a physical document, such as a driver's licence, so a verifier can check it is authentic and not revoked.
Most identity verification flows still photograph or scan a physical ID. The barcode on the back of a US licence has carried the holder's data for years, but not in a form a verifier could cryptographically check. Verifiable Credential Barcodes add a signature small enough to fit in that same barcode, so a scan can confirm the issuer produced the data.
Signatures alone do not help with stolen documents: a genuine licence that leaked in a breach is still genuine. That is the point of W3C's October 7, 2026 press release, which pairs the barcode spec with the Bitstring Status List so an issuer can revoke a compromised document. California's DMV documents its implementation, including a public verifier and an SDK, on its digital signature page, which describes real-time, privacy-preserving status checks.
Our reading. For a CIAM team, VC Barcodes matter at onboarding and recovery, wherever identity verification relies on a document scan. Ask your IDV vendor whether it validates VC Barcode signatures and checks status, and whether it fails closed on a revoked document. The spec is still a Working Draft, and revocation is optional per credential, so check each issuer's practice rather than assuming every barcode is revocable. For the digital-wallet counterpart, see mobile driver's licence and verifiable credentials.
Common questions
What is a Verifiable Credential Barcode?
It is a W3C-specified way to put a digitally signed credential inside the 2D barcode of a physical document, such as the PDF417 barcode on a US driver's licence. A verifier scans it and checks the issuer's signature, which shows whether the printed data was altered or forged.
How does a VC Barcode handle revocation?
Optionally, through a status list. The credential can reference a position in a Bitstring Status List published by the issuer; if the issuer flips that bit, verifiers see the document as revoked or suspended. W3C's October 2026 release argues this gives issuers real-time, per-credential control without the verifier calling the issuer about a specific person.
Who issues documents with VC Barcodes today?
The California DMV says its new driver's licence and ID card design contains a digital signature in the form of a Verifiable Credential Barcode, and its public verifier reports a revoked document as no longer valid. W3C says California began issuing them in late 2025.
Is a VC Barcode the same as a mobile driver's licence?
No. An mDL is a credential held in a phone wallet and presented digitally. A VC Barcode protects the physical card itself, so it helps any process that still scans plastic IDs, such as remote document capture during identity verification.
Related terms
In the guides
Decentralized Identity and Verifiable Credentials: What CIAM Teams Should Know
EUDI Wallet rolls out in 2026. US mDL adoption is uneven but real. DID and VC are no longer research projects. The CIAM-side impact, and when to start integrating.
Identity Verification and Proofing (IDV/KYC): A CIAM Guide for 2026
How to prove a real person matches a claimed identity at signup: document capture, liveness, authoritative-data checks. The 2026 stack, the deepfake escalation, and where CIAM ends.