The OBDI Specification
A durable, trusted, open identity standard for bicycles.
The Open Bicycle Digital Identity (OBDI) Specification creates a trusted connection between a physical bicycle and authoritative information about what that bicycle was when it was manufactured.
Why OBDI is necessary
Read this first:
Click to view the open letter to industry and advocacy explaining the necessity of an OBDI specification
How it works
Every OBDI bicycle has:
- A unique, permanent identifier
- A durable NFC tag and QR code
- Manufacturer-provided specifications
- A trusted public web record & API
- An open standard that other services can use
Scan a bike. Know what it is.
Scan the NFC tag or QR code with any phone to see the bicycle’s authoritative OBDI record in a web-browser.
That record can include:
- Manufacturer and model
- Model year and color
- Bicycle or e-bike type
- E-bike class
- Motor power
- Original assisted-speed limit
- Mode characteristics – permanent or user-selected
- OBDI identifier and record status
No owner information. No personal information. No login required.
Why OBDI?
Today, bicycles have serial numbers, manufacturer records, registration systems, e-bike labels and other sources of information — but there is no common digital identity connecting them.
OBDI provides that missing foundation. The OBDI consortium offers stakeholders a meaningful way to administer the OBDI Specification.
Once a bicycle has a trusted OBDI identity, other services can reliably reference the same physical bicycle.
That can enable:
- Registration and theft recovery
- E-bike verification
- Trail and land-access credentials
- Campus and municipal programs
- Warranty and service records
- Retail and repair systems
- Public-safety and field verification
Those services are not OBDI.
OBDI is the common identity that makes them possible, trusted and efficient.
Open by design
OBDI is intended to be an open industry standard shared by bicycle manufacturers, component manufacturers and the organizations that build services around bicycles.
One bicycle. One durable identity. Many possibilities.
Delve into the earliest version of the draft OBDI specification:
Click to view the most recent draft v0.4 OBDI spec
Industry and Advocacy leadership is invited to get involved and engaged in the OBDI specification committee. Committee selection will take place in November, 2026.
Please indicate your interest with this form.
OBDI Specification is proposed as an open licensed, industry supported, consortium led bicycle metadata standard.
CC-BY – California Trails Foundation and Jacob Bayless