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W3C Verifiable Credentials 2.0

W3C · Verifiable Credentials Data Model SIGNET support: Normative mapping

What it is

The Verifiable Credentials data model is the W3C standard for making claims that are cryptographically verifiable without contacting the issuer: a credential names a subject, an issuer, the claims made, and a proof, so any party can check its authenticity and integrity independently. Version 2.0 is the current recommendation.

The standard is maintained by the W3C Verifiable Credentials Working Group. Official reference →

How SIGNET supports it

Verifiable Credentials sit in SIGNET's normative mapping tier, and they carry one of the model's foundational commitments: identity is decentralised, and claims about parties are verifiable without a central registry.

The canonical Credential object is a W3C Verifiable Credential reference. Its structure follows the VC data model directly — identifier, type array, issuer, issuance and expiration dates, credentialSubject, and proof — so a credential issued anywhere in the VC ecosystem can be carried and verified inside a SIGNET network without translation. In procurement terms, this is how a supplier's certifications, ratings, and insurance cover become portable, checkable data rather than PDF attachments.

The model also supports selective disclosure: a credential's proof may enable zero-knowledge presentation, so a supplier can prove it holds a certification without revealing the entire certificate. This matters for sealed and selective-disclosure bidding, where eligibility must be provable while commercial detail stays private.

Credentials connect to the rest of the model structurally: eligibility policies reference the credential types a submission must present, and the worked examples include a sourcing event governed by exactly such a policy.

Where it lives in the standard