DIF, ToIP Joint Announcement: Two Recommended DID Methods

did:webvh and did:webplus are the first to pass the DIF vetting process for Recommended DID Methods

With the formal recommendation of did:webvh and did:webplus, the Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF) has made a major stride towards a clear implementation pathway for DID-based identity systems. Having hundreds of DID methods to choose from without any kind of vetting for production-readiness and maturity has made it difficult for implementers to confidently take the first steps in launching decentralized identity systems. In April of 2025, the DIF DID Methods Working Group first published 13 steps for becoming a DIF Recommended method. The process was the outcome of a collaboration between DIF, Trust over IP (ToIP), and the W3C DID Working group, who signed a letter of intent in 2024 to work jointly towards DID standardization. The initial three methods submitted to the process were did:webvh, did:webplus, and did:webs. Today, DIF and ToIP officially announce the first two recommended DID methods, did:webvh and did:webplus, have completed and passed the process.

What is a DIF Recommended DID Method?

DIF recommendation is not a certification, nor does it imply the superiority of one method over another. What it means is that the DID method has gone through the process of demonstrating technical viability in production systems over time, and that it can be implemented generally, not just in a specialized case. While DIF continues to remain agnostic to the technology stack, we see it as important to support easier paths to deployment, providing “strength in numbers” as a market develops around DID-based technologies.

Full-fledged certification is outside of DIF’s mandate as an organization that supports research, standards and specification development, but we hope this coarse-grained initial step will encourage organizations closer to specific technology markets to further vet and endorse specific DID-based implementations, registries, and ecosystems.

“We're trying to accomplish two goals here. On one hand, we evaluate DID methods individually regarding their maturity. Two candidates are now officially recommended. But on the other hand, we would also like to see diversity in the overall set of recommended DID methods, and we look forward to other DID methods going through the process.” said Markus Sabadello, DIF Steering Committee Member and one of the original developers of DID methods.

Many DID methods based on different technology stacks were submitted to the DID Methods Working Group over the course of the last year, and two of them have successfully met all of the required measures. Added Drummond Reed, co-chair of the ToIP Steering Committee and one of the editors of the W3C Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) 1.0 standard, “This is a great sign of the growing maturity of DID methods. DIDs are a primary building block of the ToIP stack, and ToIP is glad to support this work, which adds a dimension of rigor to any DID method that goes through the entire process.”

Criteria for DIF DID Recommendation

The DID Methods Selection criteria stipulated that DIF is aiming to approve web based, “decentralized” (i.e., non-ICANN), and ephemeral (i.e., “offline” and unobservable) DID methods, so the approval of two web-based methods is just the beginning. Currently, two blockchain-based DID Methods, the Ethereum-based did:ethr and the Sidetree-like multi-blockchain did:cid, are in the 60-day review period at DIF. DIF expects to see did:peer (the ephemeral method used by most DIDComm implementations to date) coming in as a candidate for recommendation in the coming weeks.

Are you using did:ethr? Participate to help did:ethr get recommended status

“We know that did:ethr has been implemented in several production environments,” said Jonathan Rayback Co-Chair of the DID Methods Working Group. “We’re actively seeking contributors and reviewers for did:ethr. For projects using did:ethr, this is a perfect opportunity to boost the acceptance of their projects by supporting the recommended methods process at DIF.”

All of DIF’s work is driven by its members, contributing time on a voluntary basis. Any individual or organization using a DID method can submit their method for approval as a DID Recommended Method. Candidates present the DID method at the weekly working group, which provides feedback for finalizing the method. Typically, after the initial presentation, there are one or two deep-dives to ask further questions, and then an open review period of 60 days. If all the criteria are met within those 60 days, the Working Group will approve the declaration of the method as being on the list of DIF Recommended Methods.

Next step for DID maturity

DIDs are proving themselves in widescale deployments, particularly in East and Southeast Asia, but there’s a gap in recognition of the maturity of decentralized identity technology. Having specific recommended methods is one of the steps DIF is taking to make it easier to deploy DIDs. In the coming months, DIF will be taking steps to move more DID methodologies through international standards bodies, which gives DIDs the kind of status they need for deployment in big business and government applications.

DIF will be actively pursuing approval for DID methods in international standards bodies, specifically W3C and ITU. If you are interested in helping us fund this effort, please reach out to ed@identity.foundation