Login.gov will start accepting passports for identity verification

Individuals will soon be able to verify their identities using their passports on the General Services Administration’s Login.gov platform, marking the agency’s latest efforts to boost user friendliness on the single-sign-on service.
According to a GSA announcement published Wednesday, individuals will soon be able to submit a picture of their passport’s biographical page during Login.gov’s identity proofing process. Once Login.gov receives a passport photo, it will then check the photo against passport records managed by the State Department, the GSA said, noting State manages a “privacy-preserving” API for this.
Login.gov gives the public the option to log into multiple federal, state and local government websites using just one account once a user’s identity is verified.
Under its current format, users looking to create a Login.gov account are often required to take a picture of themselves and submit that with a photo of their state-issued ID or driver’s license for comparison.
The move to accept passports is part of a new partnership between GSA’s Technology Transformation Services and the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs, with the GSA describing it as a “first-of-its-kind partnership between federal agencies to use authoritative government records as a source for identity verification.”
“Login.gov is at the forefront of the Administration’s efforts to create efficiencies and combat fraud, and initiatives like this are a great example of doing both,” said Michael Rigas, deputy secretary of state for management and GSA acting administrator.
The GSA said in its release that “by combining authoritative government records like U.S. passports and best-of-breed private sector vendor components, the Login.gov platform provides agency partners a strong level of fraud protection.”
Thomas Shedd, TTS director and deputy commissioner of the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, said the agency now has “another powerful tool to stop bad actors” with the passport verification option.
The option to verify one’s identity with a passport is being rolled out in phases, the GSA said. The process is starting with passport books, but will expand to passport cards and in-person identity verification later in the year, the agency added.
The new initiative appears to be part of Login.gov’s larger plans to expand the number of identity verification options and increase accessibility to the platform. The GSA pointed to the 170 million valid U.S. passports in circulation, stating the move is expected to expand access to those who do not have alternative identity documents.
Luigi Ray-Montañez, the head of engineering for Login.gov, said last month the platform could start accepting mobile driver’s licenses sometime next year, describing mDLs as “superior evidence.”
mDLs are digitized versions of the information listed on physical, state-issued driver’s licenses and identification cards, and can be stored on mobile devices.
Ray-Montañez said Login.gov has witnessed a lot of “user frustration” and “friction” with the identity proofing process, along with issues like blurry photo submissions.