Software product support information

The expandable fields below describe the support status of the NHS England bespoke software applications used to access Spine services.

Please note the support status shown here is in the context of that product in isolation. To see if the product is compatible with NHS England smartcard enabled services, please consult the Warrantied Environment Specification.

Smartcard Connect

NHS Smartcard Connect is the latest authentication client and uses more modern standards to provide access to Spine systems using a smartcard via CIS2 authentication.

The recommended version of NHS Smartcard Connect is v3.13.5.0. Download this version.

Any applications dependant on CIS1 Authentication will not work with Smartcard Connect.

Identity Agent

NHS Identity Agent is now a legacy and soon to be deprecated product but is primarily used for accessing Spine systems using a smartcard via CIS1 authentication.

NHS Identity Agent version	Current status
NHS Identity Agent v2.4.10.0	Deprecated; retiring February 2027

Please note: all previous versions of NHS Identity Agent are now retired due to a medium-severity service vulnerability.

NHS Identity Agent is being replaced by NHS Smartcard Connect.

Credential Management

NHS Credential Management is required when using a smartcard with CIS1 or CIS2 Authentication.

Applications using CIS2 Authentication

The latest version of Credential Management is now installed as part of Smartcard Connect and is used for CIS2 Authentication only.

Find out more and download the latest version of Smartcard Connect.

Applications using CIS1 Authentication

Any applications dependant on CIS1 Authentication will not work with Smartcard Connect.

For CIS1 Authentication applications, the recommended version of Credential Management is V1.4.2.0. Download this version.

Retired versions

The following versions are retired and must be updated to the latest version:

NHS Credential Management V1.3.1.0
previous versions named NHS Identity Hub

Operating systems

Operating system	Current status
Windows 11 64-bit	Supported
Windows 10 64-bit	End of Microsoft's extended support on 14 October 2025
Windows Server 2016	End of Microsoft's extended support on 12 January 2027

After these dates Microsoft will only release security updates for these operating systems to customers purchasing extended security updates (ESU), and they should be upgraded before these dates.

Last edited: 1 April 2026 10:32 am