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NHS Care Identity Service roadmap

Future changes planned and past changes delivered for NHS Care Identity Service.

Strategy

Care Identity Service is currently undergoing a number of improvements and the rollout of updates services under the Identity and Access Management programme.

Our main objectives are:

  • replace the legacy and HSCN dependent services with modern standard based services that work over the internet
  • offer users a variety of options for authenticating into national clinical information systems
  • maintain secure and reliable access to national clinical information systems
  • shorten the feedback loop to better understand our users and prioritise our backlog of improvements
  • increase the availability of self-service capabilities to make it more convenient for users

Roadmap

The Care Identity Service roadmap outlines a number of upcoming changes that we are researching or planning to deliver in the coming months.

Its aim is to make it easier to understand and encourage teams to work together to improve access to national clinical information.

This roadmap was last reviewed by the team on 8 July 2025.

Coming soon
Coming later
  • Smartcard Connect new version
  • RPA authentication new version
  • Robot and Temporary Access profile migration
  • Switch off SHA-1 and migration to SHA-2 (smartcards)
  • Switch off SHA-1 and migration to SHA-2 (digital signature service - all authenticators)
  • Blocking series 4, 5 and 6 smartcards from authentication
  • Series 10 smartcards (CIS2 Auth only)
  • Increased Apply for Care ID coverage
  • CIS1 authentication reduction to no service level (reasonable endeavours)
  • CIS1 authentication retirement

Release history

To find the latest updates and releases from across the Care Identity Service, visit our release hub.


Get involved

To discuss and provide input to our strategy and roadmap, contact us

Last edited: 9 July 2025 4:48 pm