To create a link between statements, and the real-world organisations and people they relate to, statements may include a range of identifying information. We use a common Identifier object with the following properties:
scheme
should be a value from a codelist of known identifier sources. Separate codelists exist for entities and persons. See below.id
should be the value assigned to the relevant entity or person in that scheme.uri
may be used to provide a canonical URI for the entity or person within the scheme.schemeName
should be the name of the list, registry or ID system.A good-quality Identifier will contain scheme
and id
values which will uniquely identify an entity or person. Where these are not available, schemeName
can be used to refer to the registration system in which the person or entity is known to be represented. When publishing an Identifier object, a value for either scheme
or schemeName
MUST be present.
A source system might hold the following identifying information for a single company:
In this case, two entries can be created in the Entity statement’s identifiers
array:
[
{
"scheme":"GB-COH",
"id":"012345678"
},
{
"scheme":"GB-VAT",
"id":"65251235"
}
]
Person Statements may also hold an array of Identifiers.
The values for scheme
within an Entity Statement Identifier should be drawn from the http://org-id.guide codelist. This contains details of hundreds of company registers and other identifier sources.
Where the publisher is providing an internal identifier, the publisher should either:
If the source system has assigned a unique identifier to individual persons, and this identifier can be published, then this should be included with the scheme ‘MISC-{Publisher Name}’.
For example, a beneficial ownership reporting system may maintain a database table of ‘person’ records, each with its identifier as a primary key. So that users can recognise references to the same person mentioned in separate statements, this identifier should be included in the published data, either in raw form, or modified to ensure a unique value.
Passport numbers should follow the format of the identifier (second) line in a machine-readable passport (see Appendix B to Part 4 of ICAO Doc 9303) including at least the document number.
Parsers should be able to extract the document number from the first 9 characters, and to access any subsequent information supplied according to the ICAO format.
Country taxpayer identification systems vary. Where specific guidance on including numbers from a particular jurisdiction is required, this may be included here in future.
Country ID card systems vary. Where specific guidance on including numbers from a particular jurisdiction is required, this may be included here in future.