# trust-registry

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/trust-registry/
Last updated: 2026-08-29
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

---

An authoritative list a verifier consults to decide which issuers and credential types to trust, and under what governance rules. It answers "is this issuer allowed to issue this credential" so trust scales beyond one-off issuer whitelists.

A trust registry is where decentralized identity quietly reintroduces an authority, and that is fine as long as it is explicit. Someone has to decide that this university may issue diplomas and that this member state may issue identity credentials. The design questions are who governs the list, how a verifier discovers it, and what happens across jurisdictions when two registries disagree.

See also: [issuer, holder, verifier](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/issuer-holder-verifier/), [trust over IP](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/trust-over-ip/), [verifiable credentials](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/verifiable-credentials/), [EUDI wallet](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/eudi-wallet/)