The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has integrated CLEAR’s secure identity platform into VA.gov in a new pilot aimed at making it simpler for veterans to create and access their online accounts.
Announced on October 7, the pilot lets veterans select CLEAR1 — the company’s identity verification service — as their sign-in option. After a one-time setup, future sign-ins take seconds with a selfie, replacing the older cycle of forgotten passwords and account lockouts that has long frustrated users of the department’s digital services.
The option is entirely voluntary and free to veterans, and existing sign-in methods remain available. For those who prefer in-person help or do not have a smartphone, the department is deploying CLEAR Pods — staffed enrolment stations — at six participating VA medical centres: Brooklyn, New York; Washington, D.C.; Palo Alto, California; Decatur, Georgia; Orlando, Florida; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The stakes are considerable. The VA serves a community of roughly 17 million living U.S. veterans and operates the nation’s largest integrated health care system, with some 9.1 million veterans enrolled each year. VA.gov is the digital front door to the care, benefits and services they have earned — and that door is only useful if people can get through it.
The pilot sits within a broader modernisation effort to improve the online veteran experience, according to reports. If the six-site trial proves popular, the approach could become a lasting feature of how millions of veterans connect with the services due to them. The first sign-ups are now live.
