Standards & technology
Open Badges
Open Badges is the worldwide technical standard for digital badges, maintained by 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global). It defines how achievement information, issuer, criteria, evidence, and date, is embedded in a badge so it is portable and verifiable across any platform that supports the standard.
Key takeaways
- An open, interoperable standard for digital badges
- Maintained by 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global)
- Metadata travels with the badge, no vendor lock-in
- Portable across wallets and platforms
- Current major version is Open Badges 3.0
What is Open Badges?
Open Badges is a specification that defines the data a digital badge carries and how it can be verified. Any platform that supports the standard can issue, display, or verify a badge, which is what makes badges portable rather than locked to one vendor.
Why Open Badges matters
The standard guarantees portability and trust. Because the achievement metadata is structured and verifiable, an earner can move a badge between wallets and platforms while employers and institutions can independently confirm it.
How Open Badges works
The standard specifies a metadata schema, issuer, recipient, criteria, evidence, and issue date, packaged with a hosted assertion that verifiers can check. Open Badges 3.0 aligns this with the W3C Verifiable Credentials model for cryptographic verification.
History of Open Badges
Open Badges began at Mozilla in 2011 and is now stewarded by 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global), which maintains and evolves the specification, most recently to version 3.0.
Open Badges vs a regular image badge
A regular image badge is just a picture with no verifiable data. An Open Badge carries structured, verifiable metadata, so it can be trusted and checked rather than simply displayed.