What is SEDI, and could it work in my state?
Your legislature can set the rules for digital identity.
SEDI is a model any state can adopt in whole or in part. Utah's law passed 25 to 0 in the Senate and 70 to 0 in the House.
Three things to know.
Your legislature sets the rules
Eligibility, issuance, acceptance, revocation, and interoperability follow standards set in statute. Rules get public comment, and the program reports to lawmakers every year.
Voluntary, with firm limits on government
No one has to get a digital ID, the physical card stays, agencies cannot favor digital or penalize physical ID, and the state may not track where a digital ID is used.
Bipartisan and modular
Libertas Institute supported Utah's law, and the ACLU later called it the best effort it had seen in a state to square privacy with civil liberties. States can start with the Bill of Rights and Duty of Loyalty and add a program later.
The problems this solves
ID is vital
Fraud
AI
Children and social media
From the 2025 SEDI Summit
“It should be legislators who are making these value judgments.”
Jay Stanley
Senior Policy Analyst, ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project
Questions you already hear, and how a SEDI law answers them.
A constituent who distrusts digital ID
With a SEDI law
Digital ID is optional, agencies must keep serving people who use a physical ID, and the state may not monitor where a digital ID is used.
A bill to protect kids online
Your committee wants age checks for some websites, but parents object to uploading their driver licenses to private companies.
With a SEDI law
A state-endorsed digital identity can prove a minimum age without revealing a birth date, and whoever checks it may take only what they need.
Drafting the bill
Legislative counsel needs a starting point that fits your state's agencies and existing privacy laws.
With a SEDI law
Counsel can start from the model bill, swap in your state's agency, complaint office, and audit office, and adopt the parts that fit.
The model bill
What the model bill covers.
Eight main parts your state can adapt to its own agencies and existing law, plus a severability clause. The Bill of Rights can also pass on its own.
Download the model bill (Word)
See the full toolkit →
Request a briefing for your state →
Talk with the consortium →
Bill of Rights
Eleven rights for everyone, including people who never get a digital ID.
Part 2
The program
Rulemaking with public comment, fees, and an annual report.
Part 3
The ID itself
Privacy and security rules, no state tracking, and who must accept it.
Part 4 to 6
Wallets, verifiers, and businesses
Minimum data, consent, guardians, and no taking the phone.
Part 7
Duty of Loyalty
Identity data stays with its purpose and is never used against the person.
Part 8
Enforcement and audit
Complaints, attorney general enforcement, and a legislative audit.
No Opposition - SB 275 committee hearing, February 2026
“Is there anyone that would like to speak against this bill?”
Rep. Jon Hawkins
Utah House of Representatives (R), chair of the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee
Rights your constituents would hold.
Legislative governance
Freedom from compelled digitization
Freedom from surveillance
Transparency
Lawmaker FAQ
SEDI 2026 Summit
States compare approaches in Park City, November 17 to 19.
Get the model legislation
The model bill, the public implementation guide, and Utah's experience.