A centralized identity system is one where verified credentials are stored and controlled by a single central authority, typically in a single database.

Often, they are used by governments – for example, in the case of a national ID card when all of the personal data and the administration of the identification process is managed and held by the government in one central database.

However, the concept can also apply to any system where the data is stored and controlled centrally by a single entity, e.g. a professional accreditation body or bank.

While centralized identity systems amalgamate the control of identity data under one structure, the ID artefacts they produce may still be accepted elsewhere, or used to access new forms of identification.