CitizenCard
CitizenCard is a UK not-for-profit founded in 1999 that issues Home Office-, Police- and SIA-endorsed PASS photo ID and proof-of-age cards across four age tiers, serving individual consumers, retailers, schools, and charities through online, Post Office, and institutional channels.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What CitizenCard does
CitizenCard is a UK not-for-profit private limited company, established in 1999 and headquartered in London, that issues Home Office-, Police-, NPCC- and SIA-endorsed photo identification and proof-of-age cards under the PASS (Proof of Age Standards Scheme) accreditation. Its card portfolio spans four age variants — 18+, 16-17, 13-15 and Under 13 — and is sold to individuals primarily via a paperless online application (with standard £18, urgent £35 pricing, and free cards for under-16s), with replacements priced at £14-29 and a Post Office-branded version sold at £15. Bulk issuance is operated through schools, universities, councils, prisons, and charities as the Free Cards Programme, and a Yoti partnership since May 2018 bundles a physical card with a free Yoti-powered digital PASS ID.
Under the hood, the verification stack is API- and ML-mediated rather than proprietary: Yoti provides electronic ID document validation and liveness checks; AWS Rekognition CompareFaces performs advisory biometric similarity matching; AWS Textract AnalyzeID extracts printed identity fields; and Google Cloud Vision validates application photo quality. Verification outputs are advisory and feed manual review, with 14% of applications failing checks. A separate consumer-facing API powers confirmations to third-party identity platforms (Yoti, 1Account, Arissian/Luciditi, Vouchsafe) and to retailers via verify.citizencard.com and the free PASS Card Verify mobile app (iOS/Android), which had executed 58,000+ checks and identified 18,000 fake cards at launch.
Monetisation combines one-time application fees (£18 standard, £35 urgent, £14-29 replacement, £15 Post Office), affiliate revenue from the SimpleSavings discount programme (AWIN-tracked, including AA, Currys, TopCashback, Samsung), and a Partner Programme paying 15-25% commissions on referred applications. The organisation is governed by representatives from Allwyn (National Lottery), Co-op, Entain (Ladbrokes/Coral) and the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, and is audited under the Age Check Certification Scheme. Headcount sits in the 11-50 band and revenue is not publicly disclosed.
CitizenCard firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CitizenCard
- Legal name
- CitizenCard Limited
- Website
- https://citizencard.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CitizenCard is a UK not-for-profit founded in 1999 that issues Home Office-, Police- and SIA-endorsed PASS photo ID and proof-of-age cards across four age tiers, serving individual consumers, retailers, schools, and charities through online, Post Office, and institutional channels.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CitizenCard is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
CitizenCard business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Application Processing and Validation Service: Primary revenue from processing and verifying applications for CitizenCard. Payment covers application processing and validation service; the physical card remains property of CitizenCard Limited. Standard application £18, urgent £35, replacement £14-£29.
- Partner Programme Commission: Partners earn 15-25% commission on successful referrals when someone applies using their unique referral code. Commission tiers: 15% base, 20% at 10+ referrals/month, 25% at 30+ referrals/month.
- SimpleSavings Affiliate Revenue: Third-party discounts and offers promoted on CitizenCard website. Revenue derived from third parties for promotion and affiliate transactions through cookies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Application - £18 (Free for under-16s) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Urgent Application - £35 (£17 for under-16s) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard Replacement - £14 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Urgent Replacement - £29 |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Post Office PASS Card - £15 |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
CitizenCard product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CitizenCard issues police-endorsed photo identification and proof of age cards to UK residents, available in four age variants (18+, 16-17, 13-15, and Under 13). Each card carries the PASS hologram endorsed by the Home Office, Police, National Police Chiefs' Council, and Security Industry Authority. The organisation also provides free digital verification tools (mobile app and web service) that allow retailers to confirm card authenticity via QR code scanning, photo capture, or manual entry, backed by API integrations with Yoti, 1Account, Arissian/Luciditi, and Vouchsafe.
Product overview
CitizenCard operates a portfolio of identity verification products and services centred on its PASS-accredited photo ID card. The core offering is the physical CitizenCard (available in 18+, 16-17, 13-15, and Under 13 age variants) bearing the Home Office, Police, and SIA-endorsed PASS hologram. The portfolio includes sub-branded variants (Yoti CitizenCard with free digital ID, Post Office PASS Card), digital verification tools (PASS Card Verify mobile app, verify.citizencard.com web service), loyalty programmes (SimpleSavings discount scheme), affiliate programmes (Partner Programme), and social initiatives (Free Cards Programme for schools/charities). Supporting campaigns include 'No ID, No Sale!' for retail compliance and 'No ID, No Vote!' for voter awareness. All cards can be verified in real-time via API integrations with Yoti, 1Account, Arissian, and Vouchsafe.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Yoti CitizenCard: A physical ID card plus free digital PASS ID offered in partnership with Yoti, providing a two-in-one ID solution for identity verification online and in person.
- Post Office PASS Card
- CitizenCard CymruWales
- SimpleSavings
- No ID, No Sale!
- No ID, No Vote!
Products and services
- CitizenCard Photo ID Card UK's most widely-recognised photo identification and proof of age card, available in four age variants (18+, 16-17, 13-15, Under 13), bearing the PASS hologram endorsed by the Home Office, Police, and Security Industry Authority. Used to prove identity and age for pubs, clubs, domestic flights, voting, purchasing age-restricted goods, and accessing services.
- Yoti CitizenCard Physical CitizenCard combined with a free digital PASS ID via the Yoti mobile app, providing a two-in-one ID solution that enables cardholders to prove identity both online and in person. The digital ID is anchored to the Yoti-validated identity.
- Post Office PASS Card Branded version of the CitizenCard issued through the Post Office partnership at £15 each, bearing the Home Office and police-endorsed PASS hologram and accepted nationwide as valid proof of age and photo ID.
- PASS Card Verify Mobile App Free mobile application (iOS and Android) enabling retailers and organisations to verify whether any PASS card is genuine by scanning a QR code or taking a photo of the card, powered by Google Cloud Vision API to extract and validate card details.
- verify.citizencard.com Web Service
Quantifiable outcome
- 14% of applications fail verification checks
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use CitizenCard
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
CitizenCard technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability5 records
Feature6 records
CitizenCard partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Post OfficecoreCitizenCard issues Post Office PASS Cards through Post Office branches at £15 each. Cards feature Home Office and police-endorsed PASS hologram recognised by shops, bars, cinemas, clubs and travel operators.
- YoticorePartnership with digital identity company Yoti to offer Yoti CitizenCard - a physical ID card plus free digital PASS ID. Yoti provides Electronic ID Validation Technology (e-IDVT) for identity verification including document scanning and liveness detection. The partnership enables two-in-one ID solution for online and in-person identity verification.
- Boomtown FairminorAnnual partnership with Boomtown Fair music and arts festival to provide ID verification services and promote CitizenCard to festival attendees.
- Love2shopminorPartnership offering Love2shop Partner Card FREE to anyone over 18 who applies online for a CitizenCard, providing additional value to cardholders.
- Ace of ClubsminorCharity partnership providing free photo ID cards to homeless people. Ace of Clubs provides essential services (showers, launderette, meeting space) and refers clients for CitizenCard to help them open bank accounts and access services.
- National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC)coreNPCC logo appears on 18+ CitizenCards alongside SIA logo. Police endorse all cards with PASS hologram and advise licensees and doorstaff to accept PASS cards as valid ID.
- Security Industry Authority (SIA)coreSIA logo printed on 18+ CitizenCards. SIA supports PASS scheme and advises doorstaff to accept PASS cards as valid proof of age.
- National Union of Students (NUS)minorNUS partnership to promote and distribute CitizenCards to students across UK universities and colleges, often at discounted rates.
- UK Home OfficecoreHome Office endorses PASS hologram on all CitizenCards. Under Elections Act 2022, PASS cards (including CitizenCard) are valid voter ID for UK elections.
- Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS)coreACCS audits CitizenCard on behalf of PASS to ensure highest standards of UK data protection, privacy, security and rigorous identity verification.
- AWINminorAffiliate marketing network tracking referrals and commissions when customers arrive via partner links. Cookies track conversions for commission attribution up to 3 years.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CitizenCard competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- 1Account: UK-based online age verification company integrated with CitizenCard's verification API. Overlaps with CitizenCard's age verification use case but focuses exclusively on digital age checks.
- Vouchsafe: Online identity verification platform integrated with CitizenCard's API for cardholder validity confirmation. Overlaps with CitizenCard's online age/identity verification use case as an emerging niche player.
Broad incumbents
- IDEMIA: Global identity and security solutions provider producing national ID cards, passports, and biometric credentials. Much larger incumbent with overlapping physical ID credentialing capability.
- Jumio: Global identity verification and KYC platform providing document and biometric verification for online age and identity checks. Competes in adjacent online verification segments served by CitizenCard's API.
Direct peers
- Yoti: UK-based digital identity platform that is both a CitizenCard partner and a competing identity credential provider. Yoti offers e-IDVT, digital ID apps, and age verification services directly overlapping with CitizenCard's offering.
- Digidentity: UK/European digital identity provider for government and regulated sectors, including GOV.UK Verify legacy. Comparable identity credentialing and verification services to CitizenCard.
- GBG Group: UK-headquartered identity verification and location intelligence provider serving regulated markets. Comparable to CitizenCard's verification function, with broader fraud/AML focus and B2B go-to-market.
- TrustID: UK identity verification provider for Right to Work, DBS, and AML checks. Competes in the UK identity verification space and could be used by similar retailer/age-restricted customers as CitizenCard.
- Onfido: UK-origin identity verification company (now part of Entrust) providing document and biometric verification. Direct competitor to CitizenCard's Yoti-powered e-IDVT verification layer.
- OneID UK: UK digital identity verification provider using bank-based identity data. Competes in the same UK identity verification market where CitizenCard offers its card and API-based verification.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CitizenCard social profiles
Digital presenceCitizenCard compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
CitizenCard financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CitizenCard leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
CitizenCard funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CitizenCard M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CitizenCard
What does CitizenCard do?
CitizenCard issues police-endorsed photo identification and proof of age cards to UK residents, available in four age variants (18+, 16-17, 13-15, and Under 13). Each card carries the PASS hologram endorsed by the Home Office, Police, National Police Chiefs' Council, and Security Industry Authority. The organisation also provides free digital verification tools (mobile app and web service) that allow retailers to confirm card authenticity via QR code scanning, photo capture, or manual entry, backed by API integrations with Yoti, 1Account, Arissian/Luciditi, and Vouchsafe.
Is CitizenCard a public or private company?
CitizenCard is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was CitizenCard founded?
CitizenCard was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CitizenCard based?
CitizenCard is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does CitizenCard make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Application Processing and Validation Service is the primary driver. The others are partner Programme Commission and simpleSavings Affiliate Revenue.
Who are CitizenCard's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are 1Account and Vouchsafe. Broad incumbents are IDEMIA and Jumio. Direct peers are Yoti, Digidentity, GBG Group, TrustID, Onfido and OneID UK.
Does CitizenCard have an API?
Yes. CitizenCard provides a secure API enabling third-party identity verification platforms (Yoti, 1Account, Arissian/Luciditi, Vouchsafe) to confirm electronically whether a cardholder is legitimate, provided the cardholder has given consent. The API is used to power the card verification services available at verify.citizencard.com and via the PASS Card Verify mobile app.