# OpenID for Verifiable Credentials (OpenID4VC)

Source: https://startwithidentity.com/standards/openid4vc/
Last updated: 2026-07-06
License: content by Start with Identity. Cite the source URL.

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## What it is

OpenID for Verifiable Credentials (OpenID4VC) is a family of [OpenID Foundation](https://openid.net/sg/openid4vc/) protocols that move [verifiable credentials](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/verifiable-credentials/) between issuers, wallets, and verifiers. If DIDs and the VC data model are the nouns of [decentralized identity](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-decentralized-identity/), OpenID4VC is the verbs: how a credential actually gets issued to a wallet and later presented to a verifier. It builds on [OAuth 2.0](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/oauth-2-0/) and [OpenID Connect](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/openid-connect/), so it reuses infrastructure and mental models that identity teams already have.

## The pieces

- **[OpenID4VCI](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/openid4vci/) (Issuance):** how an issuer delivers a credential to a holder's wallet, including the credential offer, authorization, and the credential endpoint.
- **[OpenID4VP](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/openid4vp/) (Presentation):** how a verifier requests, and a wallet returns, a [verifiable presentation](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/verifiable-presentation/), including cross-device flows via QR code.
- **SIOPv2 (Self-Issued OpenID Provider):** lets a wallet act as its own OpenID Provider so a holder can authenticate with a [DID](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/decentralized-identifiers-did/) instead of a hosted IdP.
- **HAIP (High Assurance Interoperability Profile):** a tightly scoped profile that pins down formats (SD-JWT VC, mDL) and crypto so independent implementations interoperate.

## How it works

An issuer sends a credential offer, the wallet runs an OAuth authorization flow, and the credential endpoint returns a signed [SD-JWT VC](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/verifiable-credentials/) or [mDL](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/iso-18013-5-mdl/). Later, a verifier sends an OpenID4VP request describing what it needs, the wallet prompts the holder, and returns only the disclosed claims using [selective disclosure](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/selective-disclosure/). Because it is layered on OAuth, existing authorization servers and libraries can be extended rather than replaced.

## Status

The **HAIP 1.0** profile reached Final in December 2025, a milestone that makes real interoperability testable. OpenID4VCI and OpenID4VP are the mandated protocols for the EU's [EUDI Wallet](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/eidas-2-eudi-wallet/), which is the single largest deployment driver. Wallet vendors, government programs, and [decentralized identity platforms](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/decentralized-identity/) are converging on this family.

## When to use it

Use OpenID4VC when you are building issuance or verification into a product and want a standards-based path that verifiers and wallets will accept. Choosing it over a proprietary credential exchange is what keeps your credentials portable across the ecosystem, especially anything that must interoperate with EU wallets.

## Pitfalls

- The family is broad; align on a profile (HAIP) and credential format up front rather than the base specs alone.
- SIOPv2 and DID-based flows are less mature than the issuance and presentation cores; check what your target wallets actually support.

## Related

Guides: [verifiable credentials implementation guide](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/decentralized-identity/verifiable-credentials-implementation-guide/), [what is decentralized identity](https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-decentralized-identity/). Standards: [Verifiable Credentials](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/verifiable-credentials/), [DID](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/decentralized-identifiers-did/), [eIDAS 2 / EUDI Wallet](https://startwithidentity.com/standards/eidas-2-eudi-wallet/). Glossary: [OpenID4VCI](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/openid4vci/), [OpenID4VP](https://startwithidentity.com/glossary/openid4vp/). Vendors: [decentralized identity](https://startwithidentity.com/vendors/decentralized-identity/).

## Who wrote it

OpenID4VP and OpenID4VCI are edited by [Kristina Yasuda](https://startwithidentity.com/experts/kristina-yasuda/), [Torsten Lodderstedt](https://startwithidentity.com/experts/torsten-lodderstedt/), and [Tobias Looker](https://startwithidentity.com/experts/tobias-looker/). More in the [experts directory](https://startwithidentity.com/experts/).