[PROPOSAL] Verifiable Credentials Over Wireless

This is a new Work item proposal for the CCG:

https://github.com/w3c-ccg/community/issues/251

The "Verifiable Credentials over Wireless" specification establishes a
number of wireless protocols that can be used to request and present
verifiable credentials over electromagnetic communication devices such
ones supporting Near Field Communication (NFC) and Bluetooth Low
Energy (BLE).

## Include Link to Abstract or Draft

https://digitalbazaar.github.io/vc-wireless/

## List Owners

The following individuals (and organizations) are contributors on the
technology:

* Manu Sporny / Digital Bazaar (@msporny)
* Brian Becker / California Office of Emergency Services (@oes-beckerb),
* Tracy Korsmo / North Dakota Information Technology
* Nathan Rao / WCapra (@nraocapra)
* David Ezell / Conexxus (@dezell)

## Work Item Questions

> Answer the following questions in order to document how you are meeting the requirements for a new work item at the W3C Credentials Community Group. Please note if this work item supports the Silicon Valley Innovation program or another government or private sector project.

### 1. Explain what you are trying to do using no jargon or acronyms.

We are trying to make it possible to transmit and receive W3C
Verifiable Credentials when there is no access to the Internet or the
Web. There are a variety of use cases where this is desired, such as
lack of a stable Internet data connection (rural area or disaster
situation), transmission to/from embedded devices with no Internet
connectivity (such as a security gate or at a retail point of sale),
or where transmission over the Internet is not desired for privacy
reasons.

### 2. How is it done today, and what are the limits of the current practice?

Currently, W3C Verifiable Credentials are transmitted over the
Internet/Web or via QR Code. There is no standardized, high-bandwidth
mechanism to transmit W3C Verifiable Credentials.

### 3. What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful?

The "new" approach isn't novel, it has just been a technology gap to
date. This specification is intended to close that gap.

### 4. How are you involving participants from multiple skill sets and
global locations in this work item? (Skill sets: technical, design,
product, marketing, anthropological, and UX. Global locations: the
Americas, APAC, Europe, Middle East.)

We are incubating the work in the open, in a diverse and global group
(the CCG). We are also engaging first responder agencies and personnel
in multiple US states including California, North Dakota, and Florida
and performing live pilot exercises in 2025 with the technology in
various simulated disaster scenarios, with real people using the
technology to send and receive W3C Verifiable Credentials. We are also
trailing the technology in the retail sector, for retail use cases.

This work is partially funded by the the National Association of
Convenience Stores digital wallet initiative and the US Department of
Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate focusing on
digital credential technologies for First Responders and survivors of
disasters.

### 5. What actions are you taking to make this work item accessible
to a non-technical audience?

We are presenting the technology at various first responder
conferences, to first responder agencies and personnel, in the retail
sector, and making examples and demos available in the VC Playground
and digital wallets so that people can try out the technology and see
if it works for them.

We are looking for additional people that either 1) support the
technology because they have additional use cases, or 2) are
interested in being an Editor on the specification. If you fall into
either of these categories, please let the mailing list know.

Please express your support for this specification here:

https://github.com/w3c-ccg/community/issues/251

-- manu

-- 
Manu Sporny - https://www.linkedin.com/in/manusporny/
Founder/CEO - Digital Bazaar, Inc.
https://www.digitalbazaar.com/

Received on Saturday, 5 July 2025 19:55:30 UTC