In the Marshall Islands, various forms of national IDs have been introduced, serving as both foundational and functional IDs.^[13]Both citizens and non-citizens (in a few cases) can obtain a range of identification documents such as national ID cards, driver’s licenses, passports, and social security cards. These documents are currently issued only in physical form.^[14]There is currently no digital ID system found in the Marshall Islands, but the country is in the early stages of implementing a digital ID system as part of a broader World Bank-supported Digital Republic Project.^[15] Marshall Islands also is in the process of developing a legal framework on digital ID and does not possess one currently. ^[16]However, there is a plan to design and implement a Digital ID platform through the World Bank’s Digital Republic of the Marshall Islands Project by 2028. ^[17]One of the goals of the project is to “increase access to, and enable the digitalization of, public and private sector services” and will “facilitate authentication of identity and electronic signatures online.” ^[18]To ensure that digital ID has an adequate framework, the project will establish, modernize, and implement the “legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional and data governance arrangements to support digital government and the digital economy.” ^[19]

There is no information on how the digital ID will be implemented, but the Marshall Islands have stated that the “envisioned digital ID system will function effectively as an ‘authentication layer,’ enabling citizens and residents to create a digital ID based on existing registries and databases, such as for birth and death registration, driving licenses, passports, and social security numbers, which exist within government systems”, making it a foundational ID system. ^[20]