Digital credential verification
mDL verification devices & SDK
Read mobile driver's licences and digital identity credentials to the ISO/IEC 18013-5 and 18013-7 standards — from a compact dongle to a full identity & payment terminal.
- Over 18 Confirmed
- Full name Shared
- Photo Matched
The fundamentals
What is a digital credential?
A cryptographically signed, tamper-evident digital version of an identity document or claim.
Issued by a trusted authority, held securely in the user's device wallet, and presented to a verifier who can confirm it is genuine and unaltered — without contacting the issuer. The leading example is the mobile driver's licence (mDL) defined by ISO/IEC 18013-5.
Issued & signed
Created and digitally signed by a trusted authority — for example, a licensing body.
Held by the user
Stored in a wallet app on the holder's own phone, fully under their control.
Verifiable anywhere
Authenticity is proven by cryptography — even with no internet connection.
Proximity identification
Two ways it happens
In both cases the user is physically present and data is exchanged over a short-range, encrypted link — often offline. The difference is who is on the other side.
Supervised
A person checks it
The user presents to a human relying party — a clerk, officer or agent — who may operate their own verifier device.
- Hotel front desks & bank counters
- Public administration offices
- Roadside police checks
- Verifier can display the photo for a visual match
Unsupervised
A machine checks it
The user interacts directly with a terminal or self-service kiosk — no staff involved.
- Self-service car-rental key pickup
- Airport & transport kiosks
- Automated entry / access gates
- Approve on phone, retrieve keys — no queue
How the flow works
Five steps, a few seconds
A supervised hotel check-in, end to end. The same handshake powers every proximity scenario.
Request
The verifier device generates a QR code for exactly the data it needs.
Scan
The user unlocks their wallet and scans the QR code to open a secure link.
Review
They see precisely what is asked — name, DoB, nationality, photo — and why.
Consent
They approve with a PIN or biometric. Nothing is shared without it.
Verify
The device validates the data and shows the photo for a visual match.
Offline by design: the QR/NFC handshake and signature check work with no internet on either device — the verifier never has to contact the issuer.
Where you'll see it
Everyday scenarios
The same wallet, the same handshake — across travel, mobility and policing.
Hotel check-in
Skip the photocopy
The guest scans the front-desk QR code and shares name, date of birth, nationality and photo. The clerk sees the picture and confirms the match — no documents handled.
SupervisedCar rental
Keys from a kiosk
At an airport kiosk the traveller approves the request on their phone — identity and driving licence in one tap — and the machine releases the keys. No counter, no queue.
UnsupervisedRoadside check
Licence on demand
A driver stopped for a roadside check shares their mDL QR code with the officer. Driving entitlement is verified on the spot, fully offline.
SupervisedThe hardware
The mDL device family
Three tiers — all ISO 18013-5 mDL readers with HID + REST APIs, BLE 5 and Wi-Fi 5 over USB.
Compact mDL reader
Pure mDL transport in a plug-and-play dongle that brings standards-based reading to any host.
- mDL support
- ISO 18013-5
- Connectivity
- BLE 5 · Wi-Fi 5
- Interfaces
- HID API · REST API
- Power / host
- USB · no drivers
- Desk (USB) or OEM (PCB)
- Embed into existing systems
Best for: Embedding mDL reading into an existing kiosk, POS or workstation.
Guided credential verifier
An mDL BLE reader with a built-in touchscreen, adding on-device prompts, status and a guided experience.
- Bluetooth
- BLE 5.0 · LE Secure
- Wi-Fi
- Wi-Fi 5 (a/b/g/n/ac)
- APIs
- HID & REST
- OS
- Windows 10 / 11
- On-screen prompts & status
- Desk or OEM (PCB)
Best for: Attended counters that need on-screen prompts and live status.
Identity & payment terminal
A complete terminal combining mDL verification with KYC, face match, liveness, NFC payments and POS in one device.
- KYC & ID
- Credential reading
- Biometrics
- Face match · liveness
- Payments
- NFC / contactless
- Wallets
- Apple, Google + custom
- Standard / printer / wall mount
- Full onboarding in one device
Best for: Full onboarding, verification and payment at one touchpoint.
The software
One mDL SDK, two integration paths
The SDK handles device engagement, secure sessions, selective disclosure and issuer + device authentication — you just receive the verified attributes.
HID API
The device appears as a standard HID peripheral. Minimal integration, no driver install — ideal for locked-down or legacy hosts.
REST API
Call the reader over HTTP. Language-agnostic and easy to embed in web front-ends or back-office services.
Integrate in a few lines of SDK or a single API call — two customers are live in production, each integrated in one week.
The standard
ISO/IEC 18013-5 and 18013-7
Both modes use the same issuer-signed data model, selective disclosure, and device authentication — proximity today, online tomorrow.
ISO/IEC 18013-5
In-person / proximity
- mDL presented face-to-face
- Engagement via QR code or NFC tap
- Encrypted transfer over BLE (also NFC / Wi-Fi Aware)
- Works fully offline — no internet needed
ISO/IEC 18013-7
Online / remote
- mDL presented over the internet
- Web / app flows (e.g. OpenID4VP)
- Same issuer-signed data model and trust
- Remote onboarding, e-commerce, account opening
How an mDL is verified
Engagement
Holder shows a QR or taps NFC; reader and wallet open a secure session.
Request
Verifier asks for specific attributes only — selective disclosure.
Transfer
Wallet returns signed data over BLE (or online for 18013-7).
Issuer authentication
The signature is checked against a trusted issuer (IACA) chain.
Device authentication
Confirms the credential is bound to the genuine device — anti-clone.
Result
Attributes confirmed authentic, current and unaltered.
The case for digital credentials
Why they matter
Selective disclosure
Share only what's needed — prove 'over 18' without revealing your date of birth or address.
Tamper-evident & clone-resistant
Issuer signatures plus device binding stop forgery and copying.
Verify offline, in seconds
Cryptographic proof means no live lookup against the issuer's database.
No central honeypot
Data lives on the holder's device, not in a verifier's data store.
Always current
Revocation, renewal and updates are handled by the issuer.
Standards-based & interoperable
ISO 18013-5/-7 works across compliant wallets and readers.
Where mDL is deployed
Use cases across industries
Same standards. Same SDK. Different form factors per touchpoint.
Hospitality & venues
Age verification at clubs, casinos and bars — only the over-18 flag is shared.
Banking & finance
In-branch KYC and remote account opening with cryptographic assurance.
Travel & accommodation
Airport ID checks, hotel check-in and car-rental pickup without paperwork.
Government services
Service-centre identity proofing for licences, benefits and registrations.
Retail age-gating
Alcohol, tobacco and vape sales — pass / fail in one tap, no DOB stored.
Healthcare
Patient identity at intake and prescription pickup at pharmacy counters.
Online / fintech
Remote onboarding for gambling, fintech and age-gated platforms via 18013-7.
Workplace & sites
Contractor sign-on, visitor management and construction-site induction.
The platform
Not just a reader — a credential platform
One trust core, one SDK — issue, verify, pay and onboard across any digital credential.
Be your own issuer
Stand up an issuing authority and sign your own credentials — staff IDs, memberships, entitlements.
Any digital credential
Not limited to driver's licences. Any ISO / W3C credential your wallet ecosystem supports.
Payments, KYC & biometrics
mDL verification with face match, liveness and NFC payments in one device flow.
Custom workflows
Compose verify, pay, print and approve steps into the exact flow your business needs.
It also pairs with Smart Solutions's OCR engine to read documents that aren't yet digital — so one stack covers every credential, old and new.
Standards-based mDL verification — from a dongle to a full terminal
Tell us your touchpoint — POS, counter or self-service — and we'll match the right device and integration path.