Skip to content.
|Networking government in New Zealand.
You are here: Home » Services » Authentication » Identity Verification Service (IVS)

IVS Overview

The igovt identity verification service is an all-of-government shared service. It is a way for users of your agency's services (online and offline) to verify their identity in an online environment in real time.  It confirms four verified key attributes; name, date of birth, place of birth and sex.  These four verified key attributes make up the igovt ID.  The igovt ID is an electronic credential that the user can present to government agencies to prove their identity in an online environment.

The igovt identity verification service establishes identity as part of the igovt suite of services. igovt means your agency can offer more personalised online services involving more valuable transactions because you can have confidence in the identity of who you are dealing with.

Features of the igovt identity verification service

  • Always available - 24 hours a day, seven days a week service. 
  • Opt in – people choose to enrol in and use the service and they must give consent to send the information to the government service provider.
  • Flexible - We can accommodate your agency's individual business processes and branding.
  • Secure - high level of security of data, systems and processes provides assurance that privacy information is appropriately handled.  Rapid response to changing security and risk management requirements.
  • Privacy protective - world leading privacy protective design.  Physical separation of who a person is (igovt identity verification service) from their ongoing usage of online service (igovt logon service).  No common external number or national identifier is generated. 
  • User centric – people using the igovt identity verification service are in control of the transaction.
  • Standards compliant - automatic adoption and implementation of the relevant standards relating to identity management.
  • Legislation is currently being developed that will provide a robust framework of trust and transparency along with penalties for those who seek to misuse the service.
  • Information integrity - the identifier sent to the government agency is unique for that government service provider and can not be used to match or share an individual’s information.

Benefits of the igovt identity verification service

  • Reduced costs of identity verification to government agencies and reduced total cost of ownership.
  • Reduced costs due to identity fraud.
  • Provides government agencies with the ability to have confidence in the identity of the individual to a high level of confidence.
  • Provides convenience and time savings for the people that use your agency’s services.
  • Builds trust in government online transactions.
  • Avoids individual government agencies investing in online identity verification infrastructure.
  • Enhances reputation – government agencies signed up will be seen as efficient, forward thinking and user focussed.
  • Provides benefits of scale, expertise, and adoption of best practices.
  • Gives inherent compliance with NZ e-GIF Identity Management and Authentication Standards.
  • Is a step towards achieving the 2010 Networked State Services Development Goal and the E-government Strategy.

Availability of the igovt verification service

The igovt identity verification service will be introduced in two stages:

  1. The initial implementation of the ‘limited service’ igovt identity verification service is due to be available late 2009.  This will be available to people who already have identity verified to a high level, for example those that have been issued a passport, or citizenship in the last five years.  The first service to pilot the ‘limited service’ is the Births, Deaths and Marriages function within the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA).  It is expected that several more government services will use the ‘limited service’ igovt identity verification service following the pilot. 
  2. The ‘full service’ igovt identity verification service is due to be available to the public from 2011.  The full service differs from the limited service in that it will be available to more than just those people who have been issued a passport or citizenship in the last five years.


The igovt identity verification service will be built and operated by the Department of Internal Affairs as part of the all-of-government Authentication Programme led by Government Technology Services.

Cabinet Direction

All Public Service departments, the New Zealand Police, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, and the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service are directed as follows:

  1. before developing a proposal to invest in or build online credential management or identity verification capability as an alternative to using all-of-government shared authentication services (known upon the giving of this direction as the Government Logon Service and the Identity Verification Service), whether the proposal is to be funded from retained depreciation funding or from new funding, to consult with the State Services Commission; and

  2. if, after such consultation:

    1. the government department still intends to invest in or build alternative online credential management or identity verification capability; and
    2. the State Services Commission has not agreed, either in the individual case or by reference to a generic class consent, to the government department investing in or building alternative online credential management or identity verification capability,

    the government department must obtain the approval of its Minister and the Minister of State Services before taking action to implement the proposal.

Whole of Government Direction

The Minister of State Services and the Minister of Finance, pursuant to section 107 of the Crown Entities Act 2004, direct all Crown agents as follows:

  1. before developing a proposal to invest in or build online credential management or identity verification capability as an alternative to using all-of-government shared authentication services (known upon the giving of this direction as the Government Logon Service and the Identity Verification Service), whether the proposal is to be funded from retained depreciation funding or from new funding, to consult with the State Services Commission; and
  2. if, after such consultation:
    1. the Crown agent still intends to invest in or build alternative online credential management or identity verification capability; and
    2. the State Services Commission has not agreed, either in the individual case or by reference to a generic class consent, to the Crown agent investing in or building alternative online credential management or identity verification capability,

    the Crown agent must obtain the approval of its responsible Minister and the Minister of State Services before taking action to implement the proposal,

Public Consultation

The public consultation period for the Identity Verification Service closed on Friday 7 December 2007. Analysis of the consultation has now been completed. Please see Key Documents for the Summary Report and the Full Report.

To contact the Authentication Programme, please email us at gts@dia.govt.nz.