Managing Registries

What are registries?

A registry in ACE is the top-level organizational unit for the Identity Manager. Each registry bundles two types of sub-registries:

Identity registries — map wallet addresses to Cross-Chain Identifiers (CCIDs).
Credential registries — manage the lifecycle of credentials linked to CCIDs.

Each sub-registry corresponds to a smart contract deployed on a specific blockchain. A single registry can span multiple chains by including sub-registries on each target network. For a deeper explanation of the registry model and how it fits into the identity lifecycle, see Cross-Chain Identity.

Create a registry

In the Chainlink Platform, go to Compliance > Identity Manager in the left sidebar.
Click Add a new registry.
Step 1 — Registry details: Set your registry's name and description.
Step 2 — Select networks: Choose the networks you want your registry to be deployed to.
Click Deploy registry.

Use the Coordinator API to create a registry with identity and credential sub-registries. Each entry in identity_registries and credential_registries specifies a chain_selector for the target network (see Supported Networks for chain selector values).

This example creates a registry with sub-registries on Ethereum Sepolia and Arbitrum Sepolia:

curl -X POST https://ace.api.chain.link/v1/registries \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Apikey <API_KEY>" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Production Identity Registry",
    "description": "Identity and credential registries for compliance verification",
    "identity_registries": [
      { "name": "Identity Registry - Sepolia", "description": "Identity registry on Ethereum Sepolia", "chain_selector": "16015286601757825753" },
      { "name": "Identity Registry - Arbitrum", "description": "Identity registry on Arbitrum Sepolia", "chain_selector": "3478487238524512106" }
    ],
    "credential_registries": [
      { "name": "Credential Registry - Sepolia", "description": "Credential registry on Ethereum Sepolia", "chain_selector": "16015286601757825753" },
      { "name": "Credential Registry - Arbitrum", "description": "Credential registry on Arbitrum Sepolia", "chain_selector": "3478487238524512106" }
    ]
  }'

When you omit the address field, ACE deploys a new managed contract on that chain. To import an existing contract instead, provide its address — see Import an existing registry.

The response includes the registry ID and the status of each sub-registry deployment:

{
  "id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
  "name": "Production Identity Registry",
  "description": "Identity and credential registries for compliance verification",
  "org_id": "org-123",
  "mode": "managed",
  "chain_selectors": ["16015286601757825753", "3478487238524512106"],
  "identity_registries": [
    {
      "id": "d4c3b2a1-f6e5-0987-dcba-0987654321fe",
      "name": "Identity Registry - Sepolia",
      "description": "Identity registry on Ethereum Sepolia",
      "chain_selector": "16015286601757825753",
      "address": "0x1a2b3c4d5e6f7890abcdef1234567890abcdef12",
      "registry_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
      "org_id": "org-123",
      "status": "created",
      "created_at": 1775580000,
      "updated_at": 1775580000
    },
    {
      "id": "e5d4c3b2-a1f6-8907-edcb-a09876543210",
      "name": "Identity Registry - Arbitrum",
      "description": "Identity registry on Arbitrum Sepolia",
      "chain_selector": "3478487238524512106",
      "address": "0x2b3c4d5e6f7890abcdef1234567890abcdef1234",
      "registry_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
      "org_id": "org-123",
      "status": "created",
      "created_at": 1775580000,
      "updated_at": 1775580000
    }
  ],
  "credential_registries": [
    {
      "id": "f6e5d4c3-b2a1-9078-fedc-ba0987654321",
      "name": "Credential Registry - Sepolia",
      "description": "Credential registry on Ethereum Sepolia",
      "chain_selector": "16015286601757825753",
      "address": "0x3c4d5e6f7890abcdef1234567890abcdef123456",
      "registry_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
      "org_id": "org-123",
      "status": "created",
      "created_at": 1775580000,
      "updated_at": 1775580000
    },
    {
      "id": "07f6e5d4-c3b2-1098-0fed-cb1098765432",
      "name": "Credential Registry - Arbitrum",
      "description": "Credential registry on Arbitrum Sepolia",
      "chain_selector": "3478487238524512106",
      "address": "0x4d5e6f7890abcdef1234567890abcdef12345678",
      "registry_id": "a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890",
      "org_id": "org-123",
      "status": "created",
      "created_at": 1775580000,
      "updated_at": 1775580000
    }
  ],
  "archived_at": null,
  "created_at": 1775580000,
  "updated_at": 1775580000
}

View registries

In the Chainlink Platform, go to Compliance > Identity Manager in the left sidebar. You see all registries in your organization.
Click on a registry to open it. The detail view has two tabs:
- Identities — lists the identities registered in this registry.
- Credential types — lists the credential types configured for this registry.

List all registries:

curl https://ace.api.chain.link/v1/registries \
  -H "Authorization: Apikey <API_KEY>"

Use query parameters to paginate and filter results:

Parameter	Description
`page`	Page number (default: 1)
`page_size`	Results per page
`include_onchains`	Include onchain sub-registry details in the response
`type`	Filter by type: `pair` (default), `identity`, or `credential`
`include_granted`	When `true`, also include registries other organizations have shared with you. Each registry carries an `access_type` of `owned` or `granted`. See External Registries.

To retrieve a specific registry by ID:

curl https://ace.api.chain.link/v1/registries/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 \
  -H "Authorization: Apikey <API_KEY>"

Use the type query parameter to filter by sub-registry type:

curl "https://ace.api.chain.link/v1/registries/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890?type=identity" \
  -H "Authorization: Apikey <API_KEY>"

Multi-chain setup

Registries are designed to work across multiple chains. Each entry in identity_registries and credential_registries targets a specific chain_selector, and the platform deploys (or imports) a contract on each specified chain independently.

A typical multi-chain configuration:

Identity registries on every chain where users interact — so the IdentityRegistry on each chain can resolve wallet addresses to CCIDs locally.
Credential registries on every chain where policies need to verify credentials at runtime.

Because CCIDs are chain-agnostic identifiers, a credential issued on one chain's CredentialRegistry is logically valid across all chains. The multi-chain deployment ensures that each chain has a local copy of the registry contracts for low-latency, on-chain lookups. For more on how this model works, see Cross-Chain Identity.

Update a registry

You can update a registry's name, description, and add new sub-registries. Updates are additive — you can add new identity or credential sub-registries to additional chains, but you cannot remove existing sub-registry pairs.

In the Chainlink Platform, go to Compliance > Identity Manager and click on the registry you want to update.
Click on the gear icon to open the settings page. Edit the registry's name or description.

curl -X PUT https://ace.api.chain.link/v1/registries/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Apikey <API_KEY>" \
  -d '{
    "name": "Updated Registry Name",
    "description": "Updated description with expanded chain coverage",
    "identity_registries": [
      { "name": "Identity Registry - Base", "description": "Identity registry on Base Sepolia", "chain_selector": "10344971235874465080" }
    ],
    "credential_registries": [
      { "name": "Credential Registry - Base", "description": "Credential registry on Base Sepolia", "chain_selector": "10344971235874465080" }
    ]
  }'

This example adds sub-registries on Base Sepolia to an existing registry. The existing sub-registries on other chains are unaffected.

You can grant another organization read access to a registry you own, so it can use your identities and credentials as a credential source without re-issuing them. Grants are read-only for the recipient and can be revoked at any time. For the full workflow — granting, discovering registries shared with you, using them, and revoking — see External Registries.

Archive a registry

Archiving a registry deactivates it and prevents any further operations. Before archiving, all identities associated with the registry must be removed or archived first.

curl -X PATCH https://ace.api.chain.link/v1/registries/a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890 \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Apikey <API_KEY>" \
  -d '{
    "status": "archived"
  }'

Cross-Chain Identity — conceptual background on CCIDs, registries, and credential sources
Managing Identities and Credentials — register identities and issue credentials within a registry
Managing Credential Types — define and manage the credential types used in credential registries
Coordinator API Reference — full API schema and parameters

Managing Registries

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