By name: "w3c-vcdm-data-model-concepts" description: "Use when understanding W3C VCDM core data model concepts. Covers: claims, credentials, and presentations." sections: - "3. Core Data ModelThis section is non-normative." - "3.1 ClaimsThis section is non-normative." - "3.2 CredentialsThis section is non-normative." - "3.3 PresentationsThis section is non-normative."
3. Core Data ModelThis section is non-normative.
The following sections outline core data model concepts, such as claims, credentials, presentations, verifiable credentials, and verifiable presentations, which form the foundation of this specification.
Note: The difference between a credential and a verifiable credential
Readers might note that some concepts described in this section, such as credentials and presentations, do not have media types defined by this specification. However, the concepts of a verifiable credential or a verifiable presentation are defined as conforming documents and have associated media types. The concrete difference between these concepts — between credential and presentation vs. verifiable credential and verifiable presentation — is simply the fact that the "verifiable" objects are secured in a cryptographic way, and the others are not. For more details, see Section 4.12 Securing Mechanisms.
3.1 ClaimsThis section is non-normative.
A claim is a statement about a subject. A subject is a thing about which claims can be made. Claims are expressed using subject- property-value relationships.
[Figure 2](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#basic-structure)
The basic structure of a claim.
The data model for claims, illustrated in Figure 2 above, is powerful and can be used to express a large variety of statements. For example, whether someone graduated from a particular university can be expressed as shown in Figure 3 below.
[Figure 3](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#basic-example)
A basic claim expressing that Pat is an alum of "Example University".
Individual claims can be merged together to express a graph of information about a subject. The example shown in Figure 4 below extends the previous claim by adding the claims that Pat knows Sam and that Sam is employed as a professor.
[Figure 4](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#multiple-claims)
Multiple claims can be combined to express a graph of information.
To this point, the concepts of a claim and a graph of information are introduced. More information is expected to be added to the graph in order to be able to trust claims, more information is expected to be added to the graph.
3.2 CredentialsThis section is non-normative.
A credential is a set of one or more claims made by the same entity. Credentials might also include an identifier and metadata to describe properties of the credential, such as the issuer, the validity date and time period, a representative image, verification material, status information, and so on. A verifiable credential is a set of tamper-evident claims and metadata that cryptographically prove who issued it. Examples of verifiable credentials include, but are not limited to, digital employee identification cards, digital driver's licenses, and digital educational certificates.
[Figure 5](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#basic-vc)
Basic components of a verifiable credential.
Figure 5 above shows the basic components of a verifiable credential, but abstracts the details about how claims are organized into information graphs, which are then organized into verifiable credentials.
Figure 6 below shows a more complete depiction of a
verifiable credential using an embedded proof based on
Verifiable Credential Data Integrity 1.0. It is composed of at least two information graphs.
The first of these information graphs, the verifiable credential graph
(the default graph), expresses the verifiable credential
itself through credential metadata and other claims. The second
information graph, referred to by the proof property, is the
proof graph of the verifiable credential and is a separate
named graph. The proof graph expresses the digital proof, which, in this
case, is a digital signature. Readers who are interested in the need for
multiple information graphs can refer to Section
5.12 Verifiable Credential Graphs.
[Figure 6](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#info-graph-vc)
Information graphs associated with a basic verifiable credential, using an embedded proof based on Verifiable Credential Data Integrity 1.0 [VC-DATA-INTEGRITY].
Figure 7 below shows the same verifiable credential as Figure 6, but secured using JOSE [VC-JOSE-COSE]. The payload contains a single information graph, which is the verifiable credential graph containing credential metadata and other claims.
[Figure 7](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#info-graph-vc-jwt)
Information graphs associated with a basic verifiable credential,
using an [enveloping proof](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#dfn-enveloping-proof) based on [Securing Verifiable Credentials using JOSE and COSE](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-jose-cose/)
[[VC-JOSE-COSE](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#bib-vc-jose-cose)].
3.3 PresentationsThis section is non-normative.
Enhancing privacy is a key design feature of this specification. Therefore, it is crucial for entities using this technology to express only the portions of their personas that are appropriate for given situations. The expression of a subset of one's persona is called a verifiable presentation. Examples of different personas include a person's professional persona, online gaming persona, family persona, or incognito persona.
A verifiable presentation is created by a holder, can express data from multiple verifiable credentials, and can contain arbitrary additional data. They are used to present claims to a verifier. It is also possible to present verifiable credentials directly.
The data in a presentation is often about the same subject but might have been issued by multiple issuers. The aggregation of this information expresses an aspect of a person, organization, or entity.
[Figure 8](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#basic-vp)
Basic components of a verifiable presentation.
Figure 8 above shows the components of a verifiable presentation but abstracts the details about how verifiable credentials are organized into information graphs, which are then organized into verifiable presentations.
Figure 9 below shows a more complete depiction of a
verifiable presentation using an embedded proof
based on Verifiable Credential Data Integrity 1.0.
It is composed of at least four information graphs.
The first of these information graphs, the verifiable presentation graph
(the default graph), expresses the verifiable presentation
itself through presentation metadata.
The verifiable presentation refers, via the verifiableCredential property,
to a verifiable credential.
This credential is a self-contained verifiable credential graph
containing credential metadata and other claims. This credential
refers to a verifiable credential proof graph via a proof property,
expressing the proof (usually a digital signature) of the credential.
This verifiable credential graph and its linked proof graph constitute
the second and third information graphs, respectively, and each is a
separate named graph. The presentation also refers, via the proof
property, to the presentation's proof graph, the fourth information
graph (another named graph). This presentation proof graph
represents the digital signature of the verifiable presentation graph,
the verifiable credential graph, and the proof graph linked from the
verifiable credential graph.
[Figure 9](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#info-graph-vp)
Information graphs associated with a basic verifiable presentation that uses an embedded proof based on Verifiable Credential Data Integrity 1.0.
Figure 10 below shows the same verifiable presentation as Figure 9, but using an enveloping proof based on [VC-JOSE-COSE]. The payload contains only two information
graphs: the verifiable presentation graph expressing the verifiable presentation through presentation metadata and the corresponding
verifiable credential graph, referred to by the verifiableCredential
property. The verifiable credential graph contains a single
EnvelopedVerifiableCredential
instance referring, via a data: URL [RFC2397], to the verifiable credential
secured via an enveloping proof shown in Figure 7.
[Figure 10](https://www.w3.org/TR/vc-data-model-2.0/#info-graph-vp-jwt)
Information graphs associated with a basic verifiable presentation that is
using an enveloping proof based on Securing Verifiable Credentials using JOSE and COSE. The data: URL
refers to the verifiable credential shown in
Figure 7.
Note: Presentations can contain multiple verifiable credentials
It is possible to have a presentation, such as a collection of university
credentials, which draws on multiple credentials about different subjects
that are often, but not required to be, related. This is achieved by using the
verifiableCredential property to refer to multiple verifiable credentials.
See Appendix D. Additional Diagrams for Verifiable Presentations for more
details.
Note: Presentations can be presented by issuers and verifiers
As described in Section 1.2 Ecosystem Overview, an entity can take on one or more roles as they enter a particular credential exchange. While a holder is typically expected to generate presentations, an issuer or verifier might generate a presentation to identify itself to a holder. This might occur if the holder needs higher assurance from the issuer or verifier before handing over sensitive information as part of a verifiable presentation.