NIST 800-63A IAL3 verification is a process designed to confirm that digital identities belong to real people in real life. It uses a tiered approach with three levels of assurance corresponding to increasing certainty that an claimed identity belongs to real individuals.
The 2025 release marks a dramatic departure from checklist-based requirements, emphasizing instead that organizations dynamically select an IAL (Identity Assurance Level), AAL (Authenticator Assurance Level), or FAL (Federated Assurance Level). Furthermore, this release supports both phishing-resistant MFA as well as hardware-backed authenticators like Passkeys.
IAL3 verification
Identity Proofing refers to the process of linking digital identities with real world information. It involves verifying claims made about physical presence by an individual and validating their assertions with documents, digital photos, biometrics and verification services such as Third-Party Assessment Organization (3PAO). Remote or in-person identity assurance services may be employed based on government regulation; at its highest level IAL3 is mandatory and requires an attended identifier session followed by biometric verification as well as proofing photo ID proofs with Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO).
NIST 800-63A IAL3 marks an important transition away from checklist-based requirements towards risk-based Digital Identity Risk Management (DIRM). This approach allows organizations to evaluate threats, service impacts and user populations to dynamically select an IAL, AAL, FAL for each transaction or service; further enabling Zero Trust compliance via MFA authentication devices and strong federation.
IAL3 identity proofing
IAL3 is a security level that verifies an online user by linking their virtual identity to real life identities. This requires using several proofing methods, including document verification and facial recognition with liveness detection, to confirm whether their digital identity corresponds with reality. Furthermore, this security level requires cryptographic binding within federated transactions as well as formal integration of user controlled wallets that use verifiable credentials for transactions.
Identity Proofing Process This identity verification procedure is intended for high-stake transactions where identity errors could cause serious harm, requiring presentation of superior-strength identity evidence and biometric comparison between physical applicant and the reference image on that evidence, known as IAL3. Although more expensive than other options, IAL3 standards for remote workersprovides significant deterrence against scaled attack vectors - so should only be utilized during sensitive transactions which cannot be repeated, such as accessing secure buildings or eligibility checks for benefits eligibility checks.
IAL3 compliant solution
Companies operating in the digital sphere must authenticate the identities of their customers to protect against fraud and cybercrime as well as meet regulatory compliance requirements. NIST IAL3 verification processes used to be costly and cumbersome for remote workers; now with cloud-based IAL3 compliant solution this can be done easily, securely and affordably.
IAL1 requires that physical applicants match up their images against those found in the strongest piece of evidence. Because this decision can be bypassed through social engineering of fake documents, it's vital for CSPs to implement stringent processes for collecting evidence.
IAL3 provides the highest level of assurance with both in-person and remote proofing, making it ideal for businesses that require FedRAMP High compliant security programs. Furthermore, this standard meets NIST Digital Identity Guidelines by featuring phishing-resistant MFA with support for Passkeys as well as hardware-backed authenticators such as FIDO2 security keys.
TrustSwiftly
TrustSwiftly, an NIST 800-63A IAL3 identity proofing service, equips businesses with technology to accurately validate user ID documents to reduce fraud risks and ensure compliance. The software uses advanced biometric authentication such as face recognition with liveness detection and fingerprint scanning and also validates an address against public records to validate its authenticity.
TrustSwiftly's remote solution offers businesses an efficient alternative to in-person proofing that reduces compliance bottlenecks and costs while producing top-quality results. Its supervised model allows businesses to employ multiple verification methods according to risk levels; and its robust platform supports 15 verification methods including SMS, credit card ownership verification, document validation, selfie liveness checking, bank account verification geolocation signature validation watchlist screening. Plus it provides pay-as-you-go pricing packages without long contracts!
