What does a verifiable credential (VC) consist of?
Credential metadata, one or more claims about a subject, and one or more proofs, which are the issuer's signatures over the claims.
| Part | Content |
|---|---|
| Credential metadata | Information about the credential itself: an optional identifier, the issuer, issuance date, validity period, type. |
| Claims | Confirmed attributes about a subject, e.g. date of birth = 2000-01-01 or licence category = B. |
| Proofs | The issuer's signature over the claims (and metadata), so anyone can detect tampering and check the origin. |
A claim is a statement that an issuer confirms about a subject. That confirmation is what turns a simple attribute into something a stranger can rely on.
A VC may carry several proofs, called a proof set, possibly based on different signature schemes. That allows, for example, a classic signature for broad compatibility next to a privacy-preserving one, or a migration from one algorithm to another without reissuing.
Tip: Think of a VC as the digital version of a physical document: the data printed on it (claims), the header and expiry date (metadata), and the stamp and hologram (proofs).
Go deeper:
W3C VC Data Model 2.0: Verifiable credentials — the normative structure of metadata, claims and proofs, with examples.