Why does MyGovID need my PPS number?
A common question, and a fair one: why does MyGovID need your PPS number? The short answer is that the PPS number is the join-key the Irish state uses to link your identity across services — and MyGovID, as the gateway to those services, has to reference it to do its job. The longer answer is more uncomfortable, because the PPS number is doing work it was never explicitly designed for.
What the PPS number actually is
The Personal Public Service Number (PPS number) is a unique identifier assigned to every individual entitled to use Irish state services. It was introduced in 1998, replacing the older Revenue and Social Insurance number. Its original purposes were narrow: tax administration and social-insurance administration.
Over time, the PPS number has acquired functions beyond those original purposes. It's now used by:
- Revenue (its original purpose).
- The Department of Social Protection (its other original purpose).
- The Department of Health (the Individual Health Identifier project ties to PPS).
- The Department of Education (SUSI grant administration, school enrolment).
- The Department of Transport (driving licence administration).
- Local authorities (housing, planning, parking permits).
- Several other state services depending on circumstance.
If you have any meaningful interaction with the Irish state, the PPS number is the join-key.
Why MyGovID needs it
Verified MyGovID's job is to assert to a downstream service ("Revenue", "MyWelfare", "NDLS") that the person logging in is who they claim to be. Each of those downstream services uses the PPS number as its primary identifier for individuals. For MyGovID's assertion to be useful to the downstream service, the assertion has to include the PPS number — otherwise the downstream service has no way to look up the person.
In other words: MyGovID needs the PPS number not because MyGovID wants it, but because the state services MyGovID exists to authenticate you to need it.
What MyGovID does with it
- The PPS number is stored as part of your verified MyGovID account record.
- When you log in to a state service via MyGovID, the assertion sent to that service includes (or references) the PPS number.
- The assertion is logged on the MyGovID side; the receiving service records that you authenticated.
- MyGovID does not (and is not designed to) share the PPS number outside the state-services context. Private-sector services do not receive it through MyGovID flows.
What's uncomfortable about this
The PPS number was introduced in 1998 with a specific scope. Each subsequent function it has acquired was justified separately at the time, but the cumulative effect is that one number now identifies you across nearly every state interaction. This concentration creates risks:
- Cross-service linkability. A breach in any one system that holds PPS-linked data potentially exposes a join-key to all the others.
- Function creep. Each new use of the PPS number is administratively easy because the number already exists; whether the new use is the right design choice is a separate question that often isn't asked at the moment of expansion.
- Architecture lock-in. The deeper the PPS number is embedded across state services, the harder it becomes to change the model — even if the underlying identifier design is no longer fit for purpose.
The Data Protection Commission has, in its 2019 PSC investigation and subsequent rulings, touched on these concerns indirectly — particularly around the linkability and retention concerns. See DPC ruling explained.
What you can do
- Know what's collected. You can file a Subject Access Request to see exactly what PPS-linked data the Department holds about you. See SAR template.
- Be sceptical of new uses. When a state service or a private provider asks for your PPS number, it's reasonable to ask whether they actually need it for the specific transaction. Many do; some don't.
- Don't share your PPS number with anyone who can't tell you why they need it. Phishing scams routinely target PPS numbers; legitimate services can explain the lawful basis for the request.
What's coming
The EUDI Wallet, rolling out from end of 2026, is partly an attempt to address the linkability concerns. The wallet's selective-disclosure architecture is designed so that a relying party can verify a fact about you (over 18, resident in Ireland, holds a specific qualification) without seeing the underlying identifiers. Whether the Irish implementation lives up to the architectural promise is one of the open questions of the next 18 months. See EUDI Wallet hub.
The honest one-paragraph answer
MyGovID needs your PPS number because that's how Ireland's state services identify you, and MyGovID's role is to authenticate you to those services. Whether the PPS number should be playing this role at all — whether the original 1998 design intent extends to today's web of uses — is a legitimate question. It's just not one MyGovID itself can answer; it's a question about the architecture of Irish public administration.
Primary sources
- welfare.ie / gov.ie — Department of Social Protection PPS information.
- Citizens Information — PPS number.
- Data Protection Commission — annual reports + PSC findings.