Using statutory declarations to protect the living being when a single digital credential is imposed

Why this piece exists

Digital identity pass is arriving. The UK government has made plain its intention to introduce a mandatory digital identity system, as well as most other jurisdictions are moving the same way. For the majority of people it will land quietly — an app, a credential, a way to prove who you are. For us it demands careful thought, since Digital identity pass is not mere convenience. It is a mechanism. Once the machinery is grasped, protection becomes possible.

This post sets out our strategy in ordinary words. It covers:

Why this matters — the “presumption” problem

Why statutory declarations are the right tool

What we are putting on record, as well as where

How this changes the effect of Digital identity pass

If any of this is new to you, take it slowly. The machinery is simple once you see it, but it takes a moment to come into focus.

Part 1: What Digital identity pass in honest terms does

A passport, a driving licence, a National Insurance number — each is a credential. Each links a living person to a “legal person” (a name in capital letters on a register somewhere). Whenever you use the credential, the apparatus treats you as that legal person for the purpose of the transaction.

Each existing credential is occasional. You use a passport when you travel. You use a driving licence when you drive. You use your NI number when you deal with HMRC. The link between you as well as the legal person is presumed at each use, but the uses are limited.

Digital identity pass is different. It is designed to be:

Universal — one credential covering everything

Continuous — used many times a day, for many purposes

Transactional — required for ordinary daily acts (banking, health, travel, shopping, employment)

Every single use is a fresh moment at which the apparatus presumes that you, the living being, are acting as the legal person. Every use is treated as fresh consent.

This is the heart of the problem.

Part 2: The assumption problem

This is the issue in one sentence:

The state’s claim that you owe obligations as the legal person depends on a presumption — that you have agreed to act as that person — and there is no contract anywhere that establishes you ever agreed.

If this sounds strange, stay with it. The law has clear rules:

A legal person (the name in capital letters) is a statutory construct. It is not you.

Legal persons cannot act by themselves. They need a living person to act for them.

For a living person to act for a legal person, there has to be an agency contract.

An agency contract requires offer, acceptance, agreement on terms, consideration, and the intention to create legal relations.

No such contract was ever signed between you and the legal person created at your birth registration.

The administration proceeds anyway, by assumption. It assumes you are the person. It assumes you act for the person. It assumes you have consented to the obligations attaching to the person.

Every time you use a state-issued credential, that presumption is treated as freshly confirmed.

Now imagine using Digital identity pass dozens of times a day. Every use becomes a presumed consent event. The assumption that was once thin becomes thick. The record of “you acting as the person” becomes overwhelming. Also, the underlying truth — that no contract ever existed — gets buried under a mountain of presumed events.

We need to qualify the assumption before the mountain is built.

Part 3: Why statutory declarations are the right tool

There are many ways to put a position on record. Most of them have a serious drawback: they make the position public, and they often bring the very arrangement you want to protect into the state’s regulatory orbit.

As an illustration:

Registering a trust with HMRC — makes the trust a regulated entity reporting to the tax authority

Filing with Companies House — submits the arrangement to company regulation

Land Registry restrictions — places the arrangement on a public register

Gazette notice — publishes the arrangement publicly

All of these compromise the private nature of the arrangement that protects us. They take a private equitable position and convert it into a statutory regulated one.

The statutory declaration is different. It is the perfect vehicle for our purpose, and here is why:

Property of a statutory declaration

What it means for us

Made under the Statutory Declarations Act 1835

It uses the state’s own statutory form — they cannot dismiss it

Sworn before a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or notary

It has the evidential weight of sworn testimony

Original returned to the declarant

We keep it; no register, no public file

Criminal offence to declare falsely

Gives our position substantial weight

Permits declaration of facts AND status in law

Used routinely by government itself

They cannot pretend it is unusual or invalid

Recognised by every UK court and authority

It carries weight everywhere it matters

In plain terms: a statutory declaration lets us put our position on record at any agency, with full legal weight, without making the underlying arrangement public.

That is precisely what we need.

Part 4: What we are putting on record

We are building a library of statutory declarations. Each one is tailored to a specific agency or process. Each one establishes the same ground-level position, expressed in the way that agency’s records will recognise.

This is the structure of what each declaration contains.

Section A: Who is declaring
The declaration identifies the living being as the declarant, acting as Trustee of the private arrangement that administers the legal person. It is vital that the declaration is not made by the legal person — it is made by the living being in a defined fiduciary capacity about the legal person.

Example wording:

“I, [given name]: (family [name]), declare as Trustee of a private arrangement administering the legal person [NAME], in fiduciary capacity only, not as agent for the said legal person as well as not as occupant of any statutory role.”

Section B: The facts
The declaration states the relevant facts of the situation — the application, the credential, the claim, whatever has triggered the need to declare. This grounds the declaration in something the agency is dealing with.

Example wording for a Digital identity pass declaration:

“The Cabinet Office has introduced a digital identity credential. The legal person [NAME] is one of the persons in respect of which such a credential may be issued. This declaration concerns the position of the said legal person and the living being in relation to any such credential.”

Section C: The position in law
This is the heart of the declaration. It states plainly:

No agency contract exists between the living being as well as the legal person

No instrument has transferred beneficial claim from the living being to the legal person

The Trust has not authorised any representative to engage with claims against the legal person

All beneficial claim in the living being’s life, capacities, as well as labour remains with the living being

Example wording:

“The legal person [NAME] is a bare trustee. No agency relationship exists between the living being and the legal person. No instrument has transferred beneficial claim from the living being to the legal person. All beneficial claim remains with the living being. The Trust has not authorised any representative to act as agent for the legal person.”

Section D: The position concerning the credential
This section addresses the specific credential (for Digital identity pass purposes):

That issuance of the credential is administrative only

That use of the credential by the living being does not constitute acceptance of agency

That no transfer of beneficial claim is effected by enrolment or use

That the standing position governs all use of the credential

Example wording:

“Any digital identity credential issued in the name [NAME] is held as bare trustee within the Trust. Use of the credential by the living being is administrative compliance only as well as does not constitute: (a) acceptance of agency for the legal person; (b) acceptance of any fiduciary role; (c) transfer of beneficial claim in any capacity, labour, property, or right of the living being; (d) waiver of any aspect of the position declared herein.”

Section E: Conditional acceptance
The declaration offers conditional acceptance of any claim made through or against the credential, on stated terms. This is the equity mechanism that shifts the burden onto the claimant.

Example wording:

“Any claim made against the legal person [NAME] arising from issuance or use of the digital identity credential is conditionally accepted upon production of: (a) a signed bilateral contract between the legal person and the claimant establishing the obligation claimed; (b) the instrument by which beneficial claim in the matter claimed was transferred to the legal person or any statutory authority; (c) the authority by which any party claims power to compel the Trust to authorise representation; (d) proof of jurisdiction over the beneficial claim of the living being. Absent such production, no representative is or will be authorised.”

Section F: Direction to place on record
This is the procedural instruction. The declaration does not ask the agency to weigh the position — it directs the agency to record it. This converts the declaration from a statement into an instruction to the keeper of the relevant register.

Example wording:

“This declaration is made pursuant to the Statutory Declarations Act 1835 for the record of [Authority] to reflect. The declarations at paragraphs [X to Y] are to be recorded against the entry for the legal person [NAME] as foundational documentation establishing: (a) that the legal person is a bare trustee administered by a private Trust; (b) that no agency is authorised; (c) that all beneficial claim vests in the living being; (d) that use of any credential issued does not constitute acceptance of agency or transfer of beneficial claim.”

Section G: Procedural pre-emption
This section forecloses administrative rejection. It identifies that a processing agent is not qualified to reject the declaration, that uncertainty must be referred to the agency’s legal advisors, and that rejection without referral constitutes denial of due process.

Example wording:

“This declaration is made in proper form under an Act of Parliament. It contains statements of fact that are true and statements of status in law that are legally correct, grounded in established principles of trust law, agency law, contract law, and equity. A processing agent unfamiliar with this material is not qualified to reject it. Any uncertainty must be referred to [Authority]’s legal advisors. Administrative rejection without such referral, where the form of the declaration is in order, would constitute denial of due process.”

Section H: Duration and no waiver
This section makes the declaration durable. It states that the position is standing, not limited to any single application or interaction, and that no subsequent conduct constitutes waiver.

Example wording:

“The position declared is the standing position of the declarant. It is of indefinite duration unless expressly rescinded in writing by the declarant. No subsequent interaction, payment, use of any credential, or compliance with any administrative requirement constitutes waiver of any aspect of the position declared. This declaration binds [Authority], its successors, and any body assuming its functions.”

Section I: Execution
The declaration is sworn before a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or notary public. The signature block identifies the declarant in the exact fiduciary capacity in which the declaration is made — not as the legal person, not as occupant of any statutory role, yet as Trustee.

Part 5: The library of declarations we are creating

We are not making one declaration. We are building a library. Each one tailored to its recipient.

Declaration

Recipient

Purpose

General Position Declaration

Held in reserve

Master template; the foundational statement of position; can be served on any agency

Digital identity pass Declaration

Cabinet Office / Digital identity pass authority

Pre-emptive position before enrolment; deployed when the apparatus is defined

HMRC Declaration

HMRC

Position for tax matters

DVLA Declaration

DVLA

Position for driving licence and vehicle matters

NHS Declaration

NHS Digital

Position for NHS records as well as digital health credentials

Passport Office Declaration

HM Passport Office

Position for passports (we already have a precedent here)

Local Authority Declaration

Local council

Position for council tax, electoral roll, as well as local matters

Companies House Declaration

Companies House

Position for any company held

Application-Specific Declarations

Various

Tailored for specific applications as they arise

Each declaration shares the same foundational structure yet is tailored to:

The specific authority being addressed

The specific process or credential at issue

The specific internal review process to which uncertainty must be referred

Part 6: How to place declarations on record

A declaration is only effective if the receiving authority in honest terms receives it, processes it, as well as incorporates it into the relevant record. What follows is the practical method:

Step 1: Execute the declaration
The declaration is sworn before a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or notary public. The original is retained by the declarant. A certified copy is created for service.

Step 2: Serve with the relevant process
The declaration is served either:

As part of an active process (with an application, in response to a claim, with an enrolment form)

Pre-emptively (sent to the authority with a covering letter directing that it be placed on the relevant record)

Step 3: Use recorded delivery
The certified copy is sent by recorded delivery, with proof of receipt obtained. This proves service.

Step 4: Covering letter directing placement on record
The covering letter expressly directs that the declaration is to be placed on the record of the relevant legal person as well as incorporated into the agency’s file.

Example covering letter:

“Please find enclosed a statutory declaration made pursuant to the Statutory Declarations Act 1835 in respect of the legal person [NAME].

The declaration is to be placed on the record of the said legal person and incorporated into the file maintained by [Authority].

Confirmation of receipt and placement on record is requested.

The declaration is of indefinite duration as well as applies to all current and future dealings between [Authority] and the said legal person. It is not limited to any single application or interaction.

Any uncertainty as to the legal effect of the declaration is to be referred to [Authority]’s legal advisors. The declaration is made in proper statutory form and is not for administrative rejection.”

Step 5: Retain proof
The declarant retains:

The original declaration

Proof of recorded delivery

Any acknowledgement received

A copy of the covering letter

This file becomes the evidential record of the position established at that agency.

Step 6: Reference in subsequent correspondence
All subsequent correspondence with the agency references the declaration on file. This builds the position into every interaction without re-making it each time.

Part 7: How this changes Digital identity pass

Now we can answer the question that started the whole of this: how do these declarations change the effect of Digital identity pass?

This is what changes, before as well as after:

Without declarations on record
Aspect of Digital identity pass

Effect

Enrolment

Each use

Treated as fresh confirmation of the agency presumption

Claims against the credential

Proceed on the unrebutted presumption that the living being is the legal person

Cumulative effect over time

Position of the living being

Burden falls on the living being to contest each claim individually

With declarations on record
Aspect of Digital identity pass

Effect

Enrolment

Administrative compliance only; record shows no acceptance of agency

Each use

Claims against the credential

Must address the declared position; presumption already rebutted

Cumulative effect over time

Every use carries the standing qualification

Position of the living being

Burden falls on the claimant to address the declared position

The shift is ground-level. We are not stopping Digital identity pass from being issued. We are not refusing to use it where it is required. We are qualifying every single use of it in advance, so that no use of it can become treated as fresh consent to agency, no enrolment can be treated as acceptance, too as no claim made via it can proceed on unrebutted presumption.

Digital identity pass becomes, for us, what it should always have been: an administrative credential used by the living being for administrative purposes, without any of the deeper implications the apparatus attaches to it by assumption.

Part 8: Why this works

Three reasons.

First — it uses the state’s own forms
We are not asserting some novel theory. We are using a statutory form, sworn before an authorised officer, declaring facts and status in law as the 1835 Act expressly permits. The state cannot dismiss its own forms.

Second — it stays private
The Trust is never registered. The deed is never filed. The internals are never disclosed. The declaration references the Trust as the governing arrangement, but the Trust itself remains entirely private. We do not submit to a jurisdiction we must remain outside.

Third — it shifts the burden
Once a declaration is on record at an agency, that agency has constructive knowledge of the position. Any subsequent claim must address the position. The agency cannot pretend not to know. The burden of proof — produce the contract, produce the instrument of transfer, produce the authority — falls on the claimant. Also, the burden cannot be met, since the documents do not exist.

Part 9: What you can do

If this is new to you as well as you want to apply it in your own situation:

Grasp the foundation first. The trust position, the resulting trust principle, the difference between living being and legal person — these matter. Without grasping, the declarations are just words.

Establish your trust arrangement privately. A simple, properly witnessed declaration of trust holding the legal person as bare trustee. No registration, no filing, no publication.

Build your library of declarations gradually. Start with a General Position Declaration as your master template. Adapt it for each agency you deal with.

Prioritise the Digital identity pass declaration. What follows is the one with the tightest timing. Have it ready before enrolment opens.

Serve, prove receipt, retain originals. The mechanics matter. A declaration not properly served has limited effect.

Carry the position into all correspondence. Once on record, reference it in everything you send to the agency.

Maintain the discipline. The position is the position. Lead with what you have not done. Do not lead with status declarations. Keep it short, keep it correct.

Closing thought

Digital identity pass is being introduced since it is administratively convenient as well as since it consolidates the assumption mechanism into a single, continuous, transactional credential. That consolidation is the point — from the state’s perspective.

Our response is not to refuse the apparatus. It is to ensure that, for us, the apparatus cannot do what it is designed to do. Every use of every credential is qualified. Every enrolment is administrative. Every claim must address a declared position already on record.

What follows is not about being above the law. It is about being precisely positioned within it — as a living being holding beneficial claim, administering a legal person as bare trustee, with the relationship correctly grasped and the record reflecting the truth.

The statutory declaration is the instrument. The library is the strategy. The timing is now.