# W3C publishes Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0 as a Recommendation

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/blog/2025-05-15-w3c-publishes-verifiable-credentials-data-model-2-0-as-a-recommendatio/
Last updated: 2026-07-27
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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The W3C published the Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0 as a Recommendation on 15 May 2025, the stage at which the W3C recommends wide deployment of a specification as a web standard. Version 1.1 had been a Recommendation since 2022, so this is a revision rather than a first arrival.

The substantive shift is that 2.0 does not mandate a single way to secure a credential. It accommodates Data Integrity proofs, JOSE and COSE, and SD-JWT, which matters because those communities had been solving the same problem incompatibly. Selective disclosure and privacy considerations are treated more prominently than in 1.1.

## Why it matters

A Recommendation is the point at which procurement and regulation can safely reference a spec, and that is the practical unlock. The EU Digital Identity Wallet work under [eIDAS 2](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/eidas-2-eudi-wallet/) depends on a stable credential format, and member-state implementations were waiting on exactly this.

The caution worth carrying: multiple securing mechanisms means "supports [verifiable credentials](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/verifiable-credentials/)" is not a specification. Two conforming implementations can still fail to interoperate if one issues SD-JWT and the other expects Data Integrity proofs. When you evaluate a wallet or issuer, ask which securing mechanism and which [DID methods](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/decentralized-identifiers-did/) it supports, not whether it is standards-compliant. Our [implementation guide](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/decentralized-identity/verifiable-credentials-implementation-guide/) covers where those choices bite.

Source: [W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/)