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SpruceID Blog

Thoughtful perspectives on identity, interoperability, and the systems that turn public policy into usable services.

From PDF Uploads to Verifiable Evidence: Modernizing Benefits Documentation
Document Intake

From PDF Uploads to Verifiable Evidence: Modernizing Benefits Documentation

A digital upload portal improves document transmission but does not eliminate verification work. For high-volume evidence types, structured verifiable evidence can reduce manual interpretation while improving provenance.
SEDI vs. Mobile Driver's Licenses: What's the Difference?
Digital Identity

SEDI vs. Mobile Driver's Licenses: What's the Difference?

An mDL is a digital credential. SEDI is the framework governing how credentials, wallets, issuers, and verifiers interact. Understanding the difference matters for states building digital identity infrastructure.
What Is Identity Proofing? A Guide for Government IT Leaders
Digital Identity

What Is Identity Proofing? A Guide for Government IT Leaders

Identity proofing establishes that a person is who they claim to be. For government services, the level of assurance required depends on the risk, and getting that calibration right shapes every downstream decision.
Build, Integrate, or Reuse? An Architecture for HR1 Verification
Interoperability

Build, Integrate, or Reuse? An Architecture for HR1 Verification

States face three architectural models for HR1 verification, each with different implications for scalability, privacy, and vendor lock-in. The question is which model becomes the default for which type of evidence.
From Rights to Architecture: How SEDI Turns Digital Identity Principles Into Technical Requirements
Digital Identity

From Rights to Architecture: How SEDI Turns Digital Identity Principles Into Technical Requirements

SEDI's Digital Identity Bill of Rights creates obligations that policy language alone cannot enforce. Each right implies architectural constraints on verification, credential formats, wallet ecosystems, and governance.
Who Sent This Agent? The Missing Identity Layer for AI Agents
Digital Identity

Who Sent This Agent? The Missing Identity Layer for AI Agents

As AI agents take on more consequential actions, they need a way to prove who authorized them and what they’re allowed to do. In this post, we explore an identity model that preserves accountability without creating a new surveillance layer.
Medicaid and SNAP Need Different Rules, Not Separate Verification Infrastructure
Digital Transformation

Medicaid and SNAP Need Different Rules, Not Separate Verification Infrastructure

As states implement HR1, Medicaid and SNAP can share verification infrastructure without sharing eligibility rules, reducing duplicate verification while preserving privacy and user control.
What Is State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI)?
Digital Identity

What Is State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI)?

State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI) is a rights-first approach to trusted digital identity, pioneered in Utah and gaining interest across states. In this post, we explain what SEDI is, the rights at its center, and our interpretation of how an endorsement framework can work in practice.
Digital Identity Is Becoming Policy Infrastructure

Digital Identity Is Becoming Policy Infrastructure

Digital identity is becoming core policy infrastructure. Across benefits, financial regulation, privacy, and elections, better verification can strengthen trust while reducing unnecessary data collection and giving people greater control over their information.
Medicaid Work Requirements Are a Verification Infrastructure Challenge

Medicaid Work Requirements Are a Verification Infrastructure Challenge

Medicaid’s new community engagement requirements expose a broader challenge for digital government: how to verify facts across fragmented systems. A better model combines data-first verification with portable, privacy-preserving, standards-based digital evidence.
Recommendations to CMS on Medicaid Verification

Recommendations to CMS on Medicaid Verification

SpruceID submitted comments to CMS on implementing new Medicaid community engagement requirements. Our recommendations focus on maximizing ex parte verification, expanding reliable evidence options, and keeping digital pathways voluntary, interoperable, and privacy-preserving.
What Is Device Binding, and How Does It Keep a Stolen Digital ID From Being Reused?
Digital Identity

What Is Device Binding, and How Does It Keep a Stolen Digital ID From Being Reused?

Device binding is the cryptographic layer that turns a verifiable digital credential from something that can be copied into something that can only be used by its rightful holder.