# What are the components of Verifiable Credentials?

There are 3 main components of Verifiable Credentials:

1. **Credential Metadata:** A credential metadata consists of credential identifier and information to describe the properties of the credentials, such as certificate ID. It is cryptographically signed by an issuer.
2. **Claim:** A claim is an assertion made about a subject. It describes a quality or qualities, property or properties of a subject which establish its existence and uniqueness, such as vaccination details, government IDs etc.
3. **Proof:** A proof provides the information about the issuer of verifiable credentials,proving the authenticity of the issued credentials, such as issuer details, date of issue, time stamp, signature, etc