Guidance for Registration Authority users on creating a profile for a staff member with an eVisa

eVisas are replacing Biometric Residence Permits.

The option to select an eVisa when creating a new user profile will be added in a future Care Identity Management release. For now, Registration Authority users should continue choosing Biometric Residence Permit at the document selection stage, but enter additional details in the notes field.

Read guidance on how to do this.

You can now see all active employment assignments in Digital Staff Passport

Some employees have multiple active assignments in ESR. Previously, not all of an employee's assignments were being sent from ESR to their Digital Staff Passport. Only the employee's primary employment assignment was being sent.

ESR made changes on 10 January 2025 that mean all of a users active assignments are now sent to an employee's Digital Staff Passport.

Feedback about this change

If you use the Digital Staff Passport employer portal and you have a user with more than one active assignment, we'd like to find out about your experience using this new feature.

Preferably contact us before you share any credentials. We'll set up an online call with you and follow what you do, which will help us understand if the feature works for you.

Alternatively just let us know next time you have a user with multiple active assignments, and tell us if the feature has worked or if there were any problems. You can email us at england.dsp.ur@nhs.net

Release notes now in a dedicated area

Up to and including Digital Staff Passport release 9.7 on 17 October 2024, we were publishing release notes to this news section of the website.

We've now created a separate area specifically for Digital Staff Passport releases. To view the latest releases to the service and how each affects the user experience, please go to our release hub.

Revised dates for the phasing out of smartcard series 4, 5 and 6

There are now new dates for the removal of series 4, 5 and 6 smartcards from service:

  • We expect EPS prescription signing to be unavailable from 31 March 2025.
  • It's planned that authentication with these smartcards will no longer be available in Q2 2025.
  • Other national services may stop supporting series 4, 5 and 6 smartcards before this date.

You can read full details of this change in the updated deprecation notice.

Identifying older cards

Using Care Identity Management

Registration Authority Managers, Agents and Advanced Agents can use the reports functionality in Care Identity Management to identify older smartcards in their organisation.

Read how to use reports to find older smartcards.

Using the Diagnostic Tool

You can also use the NHS England Diagnostic Tool to identify smartcard series.

Within the tool:

  • select 'Card Reader Management'
  • select the target smartcard reader where the smartcard is present

You'll then see the smartcard series number in the details shown.

NHSE Diagnostic Tool smartcard details including serial number

More information

For full details of what we're doing and why, read this deprecation notice.

If plans change between now and the dates shown above we'll update this page and the deprecation page.

Contact us

If you have any questions, contact us at iamplatforms@nhs.net

 

Revised retirement date for CIS1 Authentication

Internal NHS England (previously NHS Digital) services have migrated to NHS CIS2 Authentication, but other services may not be migrated in time to meet current timescales.

The revised retirement date for CIS1 Authentication is 28 February 2027. As part of the deprecation, the service level for CIS1 Authentication will drop to Silver on 1 October 2025.

CIS1 Authentication was originally scheduled for retirement by September 2023. We gave suppliers an extra year to migrate to CIS2 Authentication and extended the retirement date to September 2024.  

Now, NHS England applications have migrated to CIS2 Authentication or removed dependencies on CIS1 Authentication. While progress has been made again, it's clear that not all suppliers will complete the migration within the timeframe.

Out of concern for impacted NHS organisations, we intend to:  

  • account for any suppliers who have not completed the migration to NHS CIS2 Authentication or have not completed the rollout of their changes to all sites, by continuing to support CIS1 Authentication, but at gradually reduced service levels starting from 1 October 2025

  • remove the SLA for CIS1 Authentication from 1 March 2026

  • continue to retire legacy versions of client software (and associated devices) that might increase the risk of security and/or operational impacts from these reduced service levels

  • retire and remove the CIS1 Authentication service by 28 February 2027, meaning it can no longer be used

Currently both CIS1 Authentication and NHS CIS2 Authentication are supported to a Platinum SLA - supported hours are 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with 99.9% availability (target maximum of 44 minutes of downtime per month).

Revised CIS support plans 

On 1 October 2025:  

  • we will reduce the support level for the CIS1 Authentication service to a Silver SLA 

  • operational hours will remain 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, but support hours will be reduced to 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 99.5% availability (target maximum of 3.5 hours of downtime per month) 

  • NHS CIS2 Authentication will continue to be run to Platinum SLA 

On 1 March 2026: 

  • no SLA will be in place for the CIS1 Authentication service, and any issues raised with the CIS1 Authentication service cannot be relied upon to be fixed.

  • NHS CIS2 Authentication will continue to be run to Platinum SLA

We are aiming to retire and remove CIS1 Authentication from operational service by 28 February 2027.

For more details, see the revised CIS1 Authentication deprecation notice.

Help shape digital clinical safety standards

We are reviewing our digital clinical safety standards (DCB 0129 and DCB 0160) to ensure they align with modern technology and user needs.

We’re inviting interested parties to register their interest in joining our pre-consultation focus groups for DCB 0129 in February 2025. The focus groups will inform the public consultation to be held later in 2025, with a separate process for DCB0160 to follow.

These standards guide IT manufacturers and NHS providers in risk assessment procedures to ensure the safe implementation of digital systems in healthcare.

Find more details on our review of clinical safety standards, including where you can access the expression of interest form.  

Smartcard series 4, 5 and 6 are being phased out from 31 January 2025

Certificate renewal on series 4, 5 and 6 smartcards (Gemplus, JCOP41 & JCOP 41) will no longer be available from 31 January 2025.

Removing older smartcards will allow us to remove the requirement for Gemalto middleware from the service. This middleware causes significant issues for organisations and removing it will simplify smartcard operations including issuance, certificate renewal and Registration Authority unlock.

It's planned that authentication with these smartcards will no longer be available after 30 April 2025 at the latest.

Identifying older cards

Using Care Identity Management

Registration Authority Managers, Agents and Advanced Agents can use the reports functionality in Care Identity Management to identify older smartcards in their organisation.

Read how to use reports to find older smartcards.

Using the Diagnostic Tool

You can also use the NHS England Diagnostic Tool to identify smartcard series.

Within the tool:

  • select 'Card Reader Management'
  • select the target smartcard reader where the smartcard is present

You'll then see the smartcard series number in the details shown.

NHSE Diagnostic Tool smartcard details including serial number

More information

For full details of what we're doing and why, read this deprecation notice.

If plans change between now and the dates shown above we'll update this page and the deprecation page.

Contact us

If you have any questions, contact us at iamplatforms@nhs.net

 

Smartcard series 4, 5 and 6 are being phased out from 31 January 2025

There are new dates for the phasing out of smartcard series 4, 5 and 6. Read the update here.

Certificate renewal on series 4, 5 and 6 smartcards (Gemplus, JCOP41 & JCOP 41) will no longer be available from 31 January 2025.

Removing older smartcards will allow us to remove the requirement for Gemalto middleware from the service. This middleware causes significant issues for organisations and removing it will simplify smartcard operations including issuance, certificate renewal and Registration Authority unlock.

It's planned that authentication with these smartcards will no longer be available after 30 April 2025 at the latest.

Identifying older cards

Using Care Identity Management

Registration Authority Managers, Agents and Advanced Agents can use the reports functionality in Care Identity Management to identify older smartcards in their organisation.

Read how to use reports to find older smartcards.

Using the Diagnostic Tool

You can also use the NHS England Diagnostic Tool to identify smartcard series.

Within the tool:

  • select 'Card Reader Management'
  • select the target smartcard reader where the smartcard is present

You'll then see the smartcard series number in the details shown.

NHSE Diagnostic Tool smartcard details including serial number

More information

For full details of what we're doing and why, read this deprecation notice.

If plans change between now and the dates shown above we'll update this page and the deprecation page.

Contact us

If you have any questions, contact us at iamplatforms@nhs.net

 

NHS Federated Data Platform Lunch and Learn – Inpatient CCS

Join us for an insightful lunch and learn session on 11 December, focusing on the Inpatients Care Coordination Solution (CCS), a key product available to NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) users. 

Event highlights: 

  • introduction to Inpatient CCS - discover how this product streamlines elective care with data insights
  • product benefits - learn how it improves theatre utilisation, supports planning, enhances data quality oversight and validates waiting lists
  • live demo - see Inpatient CCS in action
  • future developments - get a sneak peek into upcoming features
  • question and answer session

Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding of Inpatient CCS and its benefits for your NHS organisation.

This event is open to NHS colleagues only. Register now to secure your spot.

NHS Federated Data Platform Lunch and Learn – Inpatient CCS

Join us for an insightful lunch and learn session on 11 December, focusing on the Inpatients Care Coordination Solution (CCS), a key product available to NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) users. 

Event highlights: 

  • introduction to Inpatient CCS - discover how this product streamlines elective care with data insights
  • product benefits - learn how it improves theatre utilisation, supports planning, enhances data quality oversight and validates waiting lists
  • live demo - see Inpatient CCS in action
  • future developments - get a sneak peek into upcoming features
  • question and answer session

Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your understanding of Inpatient CCS and its benefits for your NHS organisation.

This event is open to NHS colleagues only. Register now to secure your spot.