Ballot SMC015v2: Allow mDL for authentication of individual identity

Result and adoption

• The ballot SMC015v2 Allow mDL for authentication of individual identity is marked as adopted.
• The page states that the Intellectual Property Review (IPR) period has completed and that no IPR Exclusion Notices were filed.
• The ballot is adopted as of March 27, 2026.

What the ballot changes (high level)

• Introduces requirements for a CA or RA to rely upon a Mobile Drivers License (mDL) as evidence for authentication of individual identity.
• Allows use of mDL that conform to ISO/IEC 18013-5 and that may be verified by the CA or RA in conformance with ISO/IEC 18013-7.
• Requires the CA or RA to only accept mDL from an Issuing Authority that is legally authorized by the relevant government or jurisdiction to issue driving licenses.
• Aligns subsections 3.2.4.2 Validation of individual identity and 3.2.4.1 Attribute collection of individual identity more closely.
• Includes minor editorial corrections and removes an additional reference to a superseded ETSI EN 319 403.

Motion and artifacts referenced

• The ballot modifies the Baseline Requirements for the Issuance and Management of Publicly-Trusted S/MIME Certificates based on Version 1.0.12.
• The page links to a GitHub compare redline and to the published S/MIME BR v.1.0.13 PDF.
• The linked artifacts include:
  • CA-Browser-Forum-SMIMEBR-1.0.13.pdf (Version 1.0.13, March 27, 2026)
  • CA-Browser-Forum-SMIMEBR-1.0.13-Redline.pdf

Identity validation via mDL (as described in the redline)

• Adds a Mobile Driver License (mDL) definition describing an mDL issued digitally by an authorized Issuing Authority and conforming to ISO/IEC 18013-5 and ISO/IEC 18013-7.
• Adds an mDL evidence source and validation steps, including:
  • Accepting only mDL issued by a legally authorized Issuing Authority.
  • Conformance to ISO/IEC 18013-5.
  • Support for validation protocols defined in ISO/IEC 18013-7.
  • Demonstrating a valid certificate chain from the Document Signer Certificate to an Issuing Authority Certificate verifiable through a publicly available trust anchor or trust list approved by the issuing jurisdiction.
  • Performing mDL authentication in real-time as part of the identity validation process and not relying on previously captured mDL data.