Raising the bar: new framework sets higher standard for government identity document security

This unique and collaborative international endeavour between industry, forensic and secure document experts provides a practical roadmap to creating robust and secure identity documents intended for issuing authorities and policymakers.

Best practice guidelines and minimum security standards for identity documents: recommendations for advanced document design and integration of security features

At a time when the sophistication of counterfeit credentials poses an escalating threat to public safety and national security, the Document Security Alliance (DSA), INTERGRAF, and the Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) are pleased to announce the publication of our best-practice guidelines for Identity Documents.

The publication comes against a backdrop of serious and growing concern. Counterfeit identity documents are now pervasive across Europe, North America, and beyond — facilitating identity theft, financial crime including money laundering, worksite enforcement violations, and immigration-related offences such as human smuggling and trafficking.

Fraudulent credentials are also actively exploited by individuals connected to organised criminal networks, including international terrorist groups, to reduce scrutiny at travel screening and border control. The paper's authors are unequivocal: the threat is not abstract. It is active, adaptive, and escalating.

A practical guide, not an encyclopaedia

Passports, national identity cards, driver's licenses, and other government-issued credentials are woven throughout the structure of modern civic and economic life; enabling citizens to cross borders, open bank accounts, board aircraft, access healthcare and receive numerous other essential government services. For government officials that bear responsibility for the integrity of the credentials they issue, the Best Practice Guidelines and Minimum Security Standards for Identity Documents is an actionable tutorial for going well beyond today’s existing minimum standards to create a truly secure document.

The paper is explicitly designed as a guide to concepts, principles, and decision-making — focused on the "why" and "how" rather than exhaustive technical specifications. It acknowledges directly that not all technologies are equal: laser engraving, for example, offers a level of durability and tamper resistance that thermal personalization cannot match, and authorities with the means to adopt superior technologies should do so. But it also recognizes the realities of long procurement cycles, constrained budgets, and the time required for transition — and offers guidance on extracting the maximum security benefit from current tools while planning for future uplift.

An invitation to raise the standard

The framework is grounded in both established best practice and the practical realities facing issuing authorities worldwide. It is offered, in the authors' own words, not as criticism of current practice, but as an invitation: to examine existing standards honestly, identify where improvements are achievable, and commit to a trajectory of continuous improvement.

Governments are continually under pressure to define security, technical, and design requirements that are financially sustainable and genuinely effective — keeping their documents ahead of counterfeiters who are rapidly closing the gap. This paper aims to show what a higher standard looks like in practice, and how every issuing authority can aspire to it.

See the guideline document here.

See the press release here.