What is verification reuse?
Verification reuse means a second organisation relies on a check already done, with the person's consent, instead of repeating it. On Essence, every check starts with reuse off until the person decides.
What verification reuse means
Verification reuse means relying on a check that has already been done, instead of doing it again.
When an organisation checks something about a person, such as their identity, their right to work or their address, the result can be kept as a signed record. A second organisation that needs the same fact can then rely on that record, if the person allows it, rather than putting the person through the same check again.
These terms are used on the rest of this page:
- Check: the signed result of a verification, recording what was checked, by whom and when.
- Verifier: the party that performed the check.
- Relying organisation: an organisation, other than the one that ran the check, that relies on it instead of running its own.
- Reuse consent: the person's decision, made separately for each check, about whether other organisations may rely on it.
- Assessment: a signed record that a person passed, failed or was indeterminate against a named policy at a stated version.
Why it matters
Many people prove the same facts about themselves many times over. Renting a flat, starting a job and opening an account can each mean the same documents, the same questions and the same wait, for organisations that each start from nothing and each keep their own copy of the evidence.
Reuse changes that pattern in three ways. The person is checked once and decides who else may rely on the result. The relying organisation receives a signed result instead of collecting the evidence again. And fewer copies of sensitive evidence end up in fewer places.
The trade for the relying organisation is plain. It gives up holding its own copy of the evidence. In return it gets a result whose origin, time and integrity are stated, with the person's agreement on record.
How a check is offered for reuse
On Essence, the verification service keeps each check for the person, with a reuse consent setting beside it. That setting has been part of every check since our July release.
When a relying organisation asks whether a person already holds a check of a given kind, the service looks for the latest valid one. Two rules apply before anything is offered:
- the check's signature must verify. The service checks it before offering the result, and a check that fails is never offered;
- if the organisation asking is not the one that ran the check, the person's reuse consent must be granted. Without it, the request is refused.
An organisation relying on its own earlier check is not affected by the consent rule.
What the relying organisation receives is the signed result, not the person's documents. It learns that a named verifier checked a stated fact at a stated time.
Some checks cannot be reused whatever the person chooses. A check is not offered if it has expired, has been withdrawn by the organisation that issued it, has been replaced by a newer check, is not yet valid, or is under an open dispute. A disputed check becomes reusable again if the dispute is resolved in its favour. In each case the relying organisation runs a fresh check instead.
What the person controls
A person manages reuse from the Verifications area of the web app. Each check appears as a card that names it, who performed it, when, how strong it is and how long it lasts.
- Reuse is decided check by check. Turning reuse off for an identity check does not affect a right-to-work check.
- New checks start with reuse off. Nothing is shared until the person says so. A check that is renewed or re-issued also starts off, even if the old one was on.
- Turning reuse off looks forward. It stops any new organisation relying on the check. Organisations that already relied on it keep the result they were given.
- Every reliance is visible. The person sees which check an organisation relied on, when, and which organisation it was.
Erasing the account removes all of the person's checks, and an erased check can never be reused by anyone.
Reuse of assessments
An assessment applies the same idea to a decision against a policy. It carries a commitment for each piece of evidence that was evaluated, never the evidence itself. The assessor of record is always a named organisation or provider, never the platform.
An organisation names a policy and the lowest version it accepts. It is offered the person's newest assessment only if it is a pass and still valid, cites a policy version that is unchanged and not withdrawn, has a signature that verifies, and is not revoked or disputed. For any organisation other than the assessor, the person must have consented. Consent here is one setting per assessment.
The offer is the signed record, which the organisation can verify with the assessor's public key. Each offer is recorded with a receipt. When nothing can be offered, the answer gives no reason, so a result the person has not released looks the same as no result at all, and asking cannot be used to find out about someone.
Where consent sits
What reuse changes is where the person's consent sits: inside the answer an organisation receives, rather than added afterwards. If your organisation would like to understand how reuse could fit alongside the checks it runs today, we would be glad to take you through it.
Last reviewed 8 October 2026