TL;DR
- Credential verification is the process of confirming that someone’s qualifications, credentials, or certifications are genuine and valid. This can include checking educational qualifications and licenses.
- In a credential verification system, there is an issuer, holder, and verifier.
- Some common problems with current traditional verification processes include that they are time-consuming, manual, and expensive.
- Dock Certs and Dock Wallet enable organizations to verify credentials in seconds without having to contact the issuing organization. These tools are enabled by blockchain, decentralized identifiers (DIDs), and Verifiable Credential technology.
- Digital credential verification can help organizations reduce their costs, speed up their verification processes, and enhance trust with authentic data.
What Is Credential Verification?
Credential verification is the process of checking and confirming that someone's education, work experience, and other qualifications are accurate and legitimate. It’s a way to ensure that someone has the qualifications they claim to have and it is often required for things like job applications or professional certification.
In a credential verification system there is a(n):
- Issuer: Party that creates and sends a credential to a holder which can be an individual or organization
- Holder: Individual or organization that holds the credential such as a professional certificate, license, or identity document
- Verifier: Party that checks if the credential is authentic
Problems With Traditional Credential Verification Processes
These are the most common problems with many of the current verification processes that lead to delays in hiring processes and customer onboarding:
Manual: Traditional verification processes often involve a lot of paperwork and manual effort, which can be time-consuming and error-prone.
Time-consuming: Takes a long time to complete which can be a problem for both the person being verified and the organization doing the verification. Sometimes these processes take weeks to months.
Expensive: Can be costly especially if they involve sending documents back and forth or hiring additional staff to handle the workload.
Limited scalability: Traditional verification processes may struggle to keep up with the demands of a large number of applicants or a fast-paced hiring process.
Lack of security: Traditional verification processes may be vulnerable to fraud and identity theft, as sensitive information may be shared or stored in an insecure way.
Limited coverage: Traditional verification processes may only cover certain types of credentials or certain countries, which can limit their usefulness.
Lack of transparency: It can be hard to know what information is being verified and how, which can make it difficult to know if the process is fair and accurate.
Delays in Filling Urgently Needed Nurses in the Workforce Due to Slow Verification Processes
There can be major consequences for delays in processing credentials, especially in nursing. In the USA, more than a third of 225,000 registered nurses and licensed practical nurses waited at least three months to receive their licenses in recent years.
In British Columbia, Canada, there is a huge nursing shortage because there aren’t enough people doing the work of verifying qualifications. Marie Tarrant, a professor in the school of nursing at the University of British Columbia, said “There are many steps in this process and a lot of it is just bogged down in bureaucracy.”
How Credential Verification Can Be Done In Seconds
How is this possible?
It’s all thanks to blockchain and Verifiable Credential technology. With these tools, verifiers like employers, universities, and government departments can verify credentials instantly on a phone by simply using QR codes without having to contact the issuing organization at all.
Using the Dock Certs platform and Dock Wallet (free), verifiers can request specific credentials from people or organizations to ensure they are valid and authentic.
Here are some examples of ways verifiers can use Dock Certs to request information directly from credential holders:
Human Resource staff
Human resources can request that shortlisted candidates have specific degrees or professional certificates such as Digital Marketing Certificate, Bachelor of Computing Science, or Master of Public Administration.
Degree in the holder’s Dock Wallet:
An HR staff can send a shortlisted applicant a QR code to start the verification process and, upon scanning it, the credential holder sees this message on their Dock Wallet:
Construction companies
Fate Home Construction needs to hire many workers and needs to ensure that everyone at the building site has Fall Arrest and Basic Rescue Training. They request applicants to present this credential.
Fall Arrest and Basic Rescue training certificate in the holder’s Dock Wallet:
What the holder sees when the company sends a training certificate verification request:
Government programs
If people receive certain statuses to qualify for government programs such as Indian status or veterans, government departments could instantly verify if they qualify for specific programs.
Permanent resident status digital certificate in the holder’s wallet:
What the holder sees when the government sends a credential request:
How to Create Credential Verification Requests With Dock Certs
With Dock Certs, verifying organizations can simply create a verification request template and put in the information they want to verify like someone’s name, license, degree, or certificate.
Below is an overview of the general steps. Click here for the complete step by step guide.
Step 1: Login to Dock Certs and click on Create Verification Template.
Step 2: Enter the type of information you want to verify from the holder.
Step 3: Select Request.
This QR code will appear after you select Request and you can send the code to the holder.
Step 4: The credential holder scans the request with their Dock Wallet and selects the credentials that have the information the verifier is requesting, which is the name, email, and university degree.
Step 5: The holder selects the requested data and sends it to the verifier.
In this case, the holder Ash Seto uses his university credential to present his degree and full name.
He uses his driver’s license to present his personal email address (instead of his university email address).
Step 6: He selects the identity he wants to present. In the Dock Wallet, people can create different digital identifiers called decentralized identifiers (DID) for different purposes. Each DID is like a profile that holders can own and manage.
Step 7: If the credential is valid, this is what the verifier will see:
This holder’s wallet will show Verification Successful for a valid credential.
If the credential is not authentic, it will show Verification Failed.
Benefits of Digital Credential Verification for Organizations
Verifiable Credentials can provide a number of benefits for organizations, including cost-savings, efficiency, and increased trust in authentic data.
Cost Savings
By implementing a system for instantly verifying credentials, organizations can reduce the time and resources spent on manual verification processes, such as background checks. This can result in significant cost-savings for the organization, as well as reducing the time it.
Increased efficiencies in operations
With a system in place for instantly verifying credentials, organizations can quickly and easily confirm the qualifications and experience of employees, clients, or vendors without having to contact the issuers of the credentials. This can streamline business processes, such as onboarding new employees or approving new clients, allowing organizations to operate more efficiently.
Enhancing trust with authentic data
By providing a way to instantly verify the authenticity of information, organizations can ensure that the data they are working with is accurate and trustworthy. This can help to prevent errors and fraud, and ensure that the organization is making decisions based on accurate information.
Why Do We Need Instant Credential Verification?
How do you know you’re not looking at a fake medical certificate or know if someone really has the degree they say they have unless you call the issuing organization?
Verifiable Credentials are necessary in today's world as it becomes increasingly difficult to determine what is true and what isn't. They provide a way to instantly verify the authenticity of information and someone’s qualifications.
One of many examples of where Verifiable Credentials are crucial is in the field of licensing and certification. In many industries, individuals are required to have certain licenses or certifications to practice or work in a specific field. However, it can be easy for someone to create fake licenses or certifications and claim to have the necessary qualifications.
Verifiable Credentials provide a way for employers or organizations to confirm that an individual's license or certification is legitimate and that they are qualified to work in a certain field. Otherwise, workers and the public can be put at risk especially in jobs that require a lot of training such as medical workers, engineers, and construction workers.
How Does Dock’s Credential Verification Solution Work?
Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and blockchain technology are used together to create a secure and decentralized system for verifying credentials and identities. DIDs are a way to identify yourself online without using a central authority like a government or a company. They are comparable to an email address or an ID number and are made up of letters and numbers.
Here is an example of a Dock DID:
However, unlike centralized digital identifiers like usernames, emails, and passwords, DIDs are fully owned and controlled by users and provide more data privacy and security.
With Dock, DIDs are stored on the blockchain, but no Verifiable Credential data is ever put on the blockchain for security and privacy. Verifiable Credential data, like the information contained in a license or certification, is stored by the users’ in their digital identity wallet apps.
A blockchain is a type of digital ledger that records data in a secure and tamper-proof way. Blockchain technology enables decentralized verification, meaning that the verification process can be done without contacting the credential issuer at all.
Verifiable Credentials are associated with DIDs, such as a degree or certification. When credentials need to be verified, the holder presents the Verifiable Credential, and the verifier can check the issuer’s DID that is on the blockchain. This allows the verifier to confirm that the credentials are legitimate without having to call or contact the issuing organization at all.
Credential Verification Use Cases
Credential verification can speed up processes for diverse sectors including: .
Banking and finance: Verifying the credentials of financial professionals, including accountants and financial advisors, to ensure they have the necessary qualifications and licenses to provide financial services.
Travel and tourism: Verifying the credentials of travel agents and tour guides to ensure they have the experience and qualifications to provide safe and enjoyable tours.
Law enforcement: Verifying the credentials of law enforcement officers to confirm their training to carry out their duties.
Employers: Verifying the qualifications and credentials of job applicants to ensure they have the essential skills and experience for the position.
Education: Verifying the credentials of students and educators to confirm their educational background.
Healthcare: Verifying the credentials of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, to ensure they are qualified to practice in their field.
Conclusion
Dock Certs and the Dock Wallet enable verifiers like companies and government departments to verify credentials in seconds without needing to contact the issuing organization at all. Instant digital credential verification is enabled by blockchain, decentralized identifiers (DIDs), and Verifiable Credential technology. By being able to check the authenticity of credentials instantly, organizations can save money, increase efficiencies in operations, and enhance trust with authentic data.
Dock’s Solutions
- Dock Certs: No-code platform to issue, verify, and manage Verifiable Credentials
- Dock Wallet (free): Create and manage digital identities and Verifiable Credentials
- Certs API: For developers and organizations that want to issue, verify and revoke verifiable credentials, manage DIDs and interact with the Dock blockchain
Customer Use Cases
- SEVENmile issues fraud-proof verifiable certificates using Dock
- BurstIQ Makes Health Data Verifiable, Secure, and Portable With Dock
- Gravity eliminates Health & Safety certificate fraud with Dock
Learn More
- Decentralized Identity
- Verifiable Credentials
- How to Prevent Supply Chain Fraud With Blockchain
- BurstIQ Use Cases That Leverage Verifiable Credentials
- Self-Sovereign Identity
- Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)
- Web3 Identity
- Blockchain Identity Management
- Selective Disclosure
- Blockchain Food Traceability: Enhancing Transparency and Safety
- What Are Digital Credentials?
- Data Compliance
- How to Prevent Certificate Fraud
- Digital Credential Platform
About Dock
Dock is a Verifiable Credentials company that provides Dock Certs, a user-friendly, no-code platform, and developer solutions that enable organizations to issue, manage and verify fraud-proof credentials efficiently and securely. Dock enables organizations and individuals to create and share verified data.
