Utah officials this week promoted their upcoming State-Endorsed Digital Identity (SEDI) system, emphasizing privacy and user control. The new program, mandated by Senate Bill 260 passed earlier in 2025, will give residents the option of a government-issued digital ID stored in a mobile wallet. Chief Privacy Officer Chris Bramwell explained that Utah is building a system where “you control your identity” and no one can impersonate you. The SEDI will be voluntary – the law grants every citizen a right to a digital credential but does not force anyone to use it.
SEDI is designed to serve for government services and airport security checks, complementing Utah’s existing mobile driver’s license program. That mDL program (in partnership with vendors like GET Group and Scytales) has issued ISO-compliant digital licenses since 2021. The new identity framework will “endorse” a user’s existing identity rather than create a new one, and employs decentralized storage so that the state never “phones home” to track usage. Bramwell noted that the system will not log or trace users – even in case of a breach, it avoids mass reissuance of all IDs.
Utah residents can expect formal SEDI recommendations in the next legislative session. The state is positioning SEDI as a privacy-oriented complement to mobile credentials already in use (the Utah mDL is currently used for age verification and other checks). The effort was previewed in local media this month, and analysts note it reflects a broader national shift toward state-issued mobile IDs.
Utah’s privacy framing for SEDI builds on a longer policy arc. In 2021 lawmakers set facial‑recognition guardrails, and on June 9, 2025 the state enacted a law clarifying it may endorse rather than create identity under defined conditions.
The state has also moved on adjacent digital policy, including first‑in‑the‑nation app‑store age‑check requirements adopted in March 2025—context for SEDI’s emphasis on user choice, selective disclosure, and minimizing data phoning‑home.
Sources: KUTV Utah News, Mobile ID World
— By the ID Tech Editorial Team
