GovWire

The Home Office and Office for Product Safety and Standards regulatory sandbox provides an opportunity for industry and retail to test innovative approaches to age verification, such as digital ID and other products with age assurance attributes, in the specific context of the sale of alcohol under the Licensing Act 2003.

The government has now published the first working version of the digital ID and attributes trust framework. As this framework develops, the trials under this sandbox will contribute to this work by testing the practical use of age verification technology in real world situations and building our understanding of the implications.

Nine trials were conducted across England using different technologies and covering a range of alcohol retail environments. All trials were completed by 30 June 2022. Trials will be subject to an evaluation process with findings disseminated in due course.