CAN/DGSI 127:2025 Certification

CAN/DGSI 127:2025 is the National Standard of Canada for Age Assurance Technologies. Developed by the Digital Governance Standards Institute (DGSI) and accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC), it sets out the minimum requirements for verifying, estimating, or inferring a person’s age in digital environments.

The standard provides a clear framework for the design, risk assessment, selection, and deployment of age assurance technologies — ensuring they are privacy-preserving, secure, proportionate, transparent, and effective.

It incorporates and aligns with international benchmarks such as ISO/IEC 27566 and IEEE 2089.1, while tailoring requirements to Canadian law, privacy obligations, and child-protection frameworks.

Who this is for

Certification applies to organisations that:

• Online platforms – streaming, gaming, social media, or e-commerce services offering age-restricted goods, content, or interactions.
• Age assurance providers – developers and operators of verification, estimation, or hybrid systems.
• Global providers – companies entering the Canadian market seeking regulator and stakeholder trust signals.
• Any service needing to demonstrate compliance with Canadian privacy, online harms regulation, and child rights obligations.

What we do

As an independent accredited conformity assessment body, ACCS delivers testing and certification against CAN/DGSI 127:2025.

Our certification process involves:

• Assessing compliance with Canadian legal and privacy frameworks.
• Evaluating chosen age assurance methods (verification, estimation, hybrid) against proportionality, accuracy, robustness, and user rights.
• Reviewing technology design for Privacy by Design/Default, Security by Design, accessibility, and interoperability.
• Confirming risk and child rights impact assessments are carried out.
• Issuing a Certificate of Conformity and Schedule of Certification covering scope, services, and assurance levels achieved.

How certification works

Our process is structured, transparent, and consistent with other international standards:

1. Readiness & scoping – Define service boundaries, user base, methods in use, and Canadian legal obligations.
2. Testing & demonstration – Independent evaluation of system behaviour; functional demonstrations where applicable (e.g., biometric or estimation systems).
3. Evidence review – Submit structured documentation including assurance logic, PIAs/CRIAs, controls, and compliance mapping.
4. Assessment – ACCS auditors review policies, technical design, data flows, and operational processes.
5. Audit findings & remediation – Receive detailed results, with guidance on corrective actions if required.
6. Certification – Certificate of Conformity + Schedule issued; optional listing on our public registry.

Why choose CAN/DGSI 127:2025 Certification?

• Regulatory alignment – Demonstrates compliance with Canadian online safety, privacy, and child rights law.
• Local recognition – As a National Standard of Canada, it carries weight with regulators, policymakers, and Canadian stakeholders.
• Global consistency – Harmonises with ISO/IEC 27566 and IEEE 2089.1, supporting trust across jurisdictions.
• Independent oversight – Certification by ACCS provides impartial, trusted, and accredited evaluation.
• User trust – Signals to parents, NGOs, and relying parties that your service is robust, safe, and privacy-preserving.
• Reduced risk – Provides evidence of due diligence in case of regulatory or legal scrutiny.