Burgerservicenummer (BSN)

The unique Dutch personal number: who may use it under Article 46 UAVG, why it is an identifier and not proof, and what wallets carry instead.

The unique personal number the Dutch state assigns to a natural person, governed by the Wet algemene bepalingen burgerservicenummer. It is issued on registration in the Basisregistratie Personen, including for non-residents through the register for non-residents, and it stays with the person for life.

Who may use it is tightly bounded. Government bodies use it for their statutory tasks. For everyone else the rule comes from Article 46 UAVG: a national identification number may be used to carry out the law that prescribes it, or for a purpose laid down by law. Some sectors do have such a basis, healthcare and employment being the familiar examples. A private provider without one may not process it, and consent does not create the basis.

The second thing to keep straight is what a BSN is worth as evidence. It is an identifier, not a secret and not a credential: it appears on documents and in correspondence, so knowing a number proves nothing about the person quoting it. Any process that treats a BSN as authentication is broken by design. Real identity verification reads a document chip or checks a register; the BSN is only the key you use afterwards to point at the right record. In the wallet world the same discipline applies: PID carries an administrative number only where the rules provide for it, and a relying party should ask for the attribute it needs rather than for a national number.