diff --git a/src/access-controllers/index.js b/src/access-controllers/index.js
index d5650c4..7a47273 100644
--- a/src/access-controllers/index.js
+++ b/src/access-controllers/index.js
@@ -21,12 +21,12 @@ import IPFSAccessController from './ipfs.js'
 import OrbitDBAccessController from './orbitdb.js'
 
 /**
- * An array of available access controller types.
- * @name types
+ * An array of available access controllers.
+ * @name accessControllers
  * @†ype []
- * @return [] An array of access controller types.
+ * @return [] An array of access controllers.
  */
-const types = {
+const accessControllers = {
   ipfs: IPFSAccessController,
   orbitdb: OrbitDBAccessController
 }
@@ -36,25 +36,15 @@ const types = {
  * @param {string} type A valid access controller type.
  * @return {AccessController} The access controller module.
  */
-const get = (type) => {
-  if (!isSupported(type)) {
+const getAccessController = (type) => {
+  if (!Object.keys(accessControllers).includes(type)) {
     throw new Error(`AccessController type '${type}' is not supported`)
   }
-  return types[type]
+  return accessControllers[type]
 }
 
 /**
- * Checks whether the access controller exists.
- * @param {string} type A valid access controller type.
- * @return {boolean} True if the access controller exists, false otherwise.
- */
-const isSupported = type => {
-  return Object.keys(types).includes(type)
-}
-
-/**
- * Adds an access controller module to the list of supported access controller
- * types.
+ * Adds an access controller module to the list of supported access controller.
  * @param {AccessController} accessController A compatible access controller
  * module.
  * @throws Access controller `type` already added if the access controller is
@@ -62,8 +52,8 @@ const isSupported = type => {
  * @throws Given AccessController class needs to implement: type if the access
  * controller module does not implement a type property.
  */
-const add = (accessController) => {
-  if (types[accessController.type]) {
+const addAccessController = (accessController) => {
+  if (accessControllers[accessController.type]) {
     throw new Error(`Access controller '${accessController.type}' already added.`)
   }
 
@@ -71,21 +61,20 @@ const add = (accessController) => {
     throw new Error('Given AccessController class needs to implement: type.')
   }
 
-  types[accessController.type] = accessController
+  accessControllers[accessController.type] = accessController
 }
 
 /**
- * Removes an access controller from the types list.
+ * Removes an access controller from the list.
  * @param {string} type A valid access controller type.
  */
-const remove = type => {
-  delete types[type]
+const removeAccessController = type => {
+  delete accessControllers[type]
 }
 
 export {
-  types,
-  get,
-  isSupported,
-  add,
-  remove
+  accessControllers,
+  getAccessController,
+  addAccessController,
+  removeAccessController
 }
diff --git a/src/identities/identities.js b/src/identities/identities.js
index 024711e..ea96511 100644
--- a/src/identities/identities.js
+++ b/src/identities/identities.js
@@ -4,9 +4,8 @@
  * Identities provides a framework for generating and managing identity
  * details and providers.
  */
-
 import Identity, { isIdentity, isEqual, decodeIdentity } from './identity.js'
-import { PublicKeyIdentityProvider } from './providers/index.js'
+import { getProviderFor } from './providers/index.js'
 // import DIDIdentityProvider from './identity-providers/did.js'
 // import EthIdentityProvider from './identity-providers/ethereum.js'
 import KeyStore, { signMessage, verifyMessage } from '../key-store.js'
@@ -14,13 +13,8 @@ import { LRUStorage, IPFSBlockStorage, MemoryStorage, ComposedStorage } from '..
 import pathJoin from '../utils/path-join.js'
 
 const DefaultProviderType = 'publickey'
-const DefaultIdentityKeysPath = pathJoin('./orbitdb', 'identities')
 
-const supportedTypes = {
-  publickey: PublicKeyIdentityProvider
-  // [DIDIdentityProvider.type]: DIDIdentityProvider,
-  // [EthIdentityProvider.type]: EthIdentityProvider
-}
+const DefaultIdentityKeysPath = pathJoin('./orbitdb', 'identities')
 
 /**
  * Creates an instance of Identities.
@@ -167,68 +161,6 @@ const Identities = async ({ keystore, path, storage, ipfs } = {}) => {
   }
 }
 
-/**
- * Checks whether an identity provider is supported.
- * @param {string} type The identity provider type.
- * @return {boolean} True if the identity provider is supported, false
- * otherwise.
- * @static
- */
-const isProviderSupported = (type) => {
-  return Object.keys(supportedTypes).includes(type)
-}
-
-/**
- * Gets an identity provider.
- * @param {string} type The identity provider type.
- * @return {IdentityProvider} The IdentityProvider module corresponding to
- * type.
- * @throws IdentityProvider type is not supported if the identity provider is
- * not supported.
- * @static
- */
-const getProviderFor = (type) => {
-  if (!isProviderSupported(type)) {
-    throw new Error(`IdentityProvider type '${type}' is not supported`)
-  }
-
-  return supportedTypes[type]
-}
-
-/**
- * Adds an identity provider.
- * @param {IdentityProvider} IdentityProvider The identity provider to add.
- * @throws IdentityProvider must be given as an argument if no module is
- * provided.
- * @throws 'Given IdentityProvider doesn't have a field 'type' if the
- * IdentityProvider does not include a type property.
- * @static
- */
-const addIdentityProvider = (IdentityProvider) => {
-  if (!IdentityProvider) {
-    throw new Error('IdentityProvider must be given as an argument')
-  }
-
-  if (!IdentityProvider.type ||
-    typeof IdentityProvider.type !== 'string') {
-    throw new Error('Given IdentityProvider doesn\'t have a field \'type\'')
-  }
-
-  supportedTypes[IdentityProvider.type] = IdentityProvider
-}
-
-/**
- * Removes an identity provider.
- * @param {string} type The identity provider type.
- * @static
- */
-const removeIdentityProvider = (type) => {
-  delete supportedTypes[type]
-}
-
 export {
-  Identities as default,
-  isProviderSupported,
-  addIdentityProvider,
-  removeIdentityProvider
+  Identities as default
 }
diff --git a/src/identities/identity.js b/src/identities/identity.js
index f57066d..32db82b 100644
--- a/src/identities/identity.js
+++ b/src/identities/identity.js
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@
  * @description
  * An identity.
  */
-
 import * as Block from 'multiformats/block'
 import * as dagCbor from '@ipld/dag-cbor'
 import { sha256 } from 'multiformats/hashes/sha2'
diff --git a/src/identities/index.js b/src/identities/index.js
index e2b6610..4ed6ab8 100644
--- a/src/identities/index.js
+++ b/src/identities/index.js
@@ -1,9 +1,4 @@
-export {
-  default as Identities,
-  addIdentityProvider,
-  removeIdentityProvider,
-  isProviderSupported
-} from './identities.js'
+export { default as Identities } from './identities.js'
 
 export {
   default as Identity,
@@ -11,4 +6,8 @@ export {
   isEqual
 } from './identity.js'
 
-export { PublicKeyIdentityProvider } from './providers/index.js'
+export {
+  PublicKeyIdentityProvider,
+  addIdentityProvider,
+  identityProviders
+} from './providers/index.js'
diff --git a/src/identities/providers/index.js b/src/identities/providers/index.js
index 35620ef..cb140d7 100644
--- a/src/identities/providers/index.js
+++ b/src/identities/providers/index.js
@@ -46,7 +46,68 @@
  *
  * where my-custom-identity-provider is the custom module.
  */
+import * as PublicKeyIdentityProvider from './publickey.js'
+
+const identityProviders = {
+  publickey: PublicKeyIdentityProvider
+  // [DIDIdentityProvider.type]: DIDIdentityProvider,
+  // [EthIdentityProvider.type]: EthIdentityProvider
+}
+
+/**
+  * Checks whether an identity provider is supported.
+  * @param {string} type The identity provider type.
+  * @return {boolean} True if the identity provider is supported, false
+  * otherwise.
+  * @static
+  */
+const isProviderSupported = (type) => {
+  return Object.keys(identityProviders).includes(type)
+}
+
+/**
+  * Gets an identity provider.
+  * @param {string} type The identity provider type.
+  * @return {IdentityProvider} The IdentityProvider module corresponding to
+  * type.
+  * @throws IdentityProvider type is not supported if the identity provider is
+  * not supported.
+  * @static
+  */
+const getProviderFor = (type) => {
+  if (!isProviderSupported(type)) {
+    throw new Error(`IdentityProvider type '${type}' is not supported`)
+  }
+
+  return identityProviders[type]
+}
+
+/**
+  * Adds an identity provider.
+  * @param {IdentityProvider} IdentityProvider The identity provider to add.
+  * @throws IdentityProvider must be given as an argument if no module is
+  * provided.
+  * @throws 'Given IdentityProvider doesn't have a field 'type' if the
+  * IdentityProvider does not include a type property.
+  * @static
+  */
+const addIdentityProvider = (IdentityProvider) => {
+  if (!IdentityProvider) {
+    throw new Error('IdentityProvider must be given as an argument')
+  }
+
+  if (!IdentityProvider.type ||
+     typeof IdentityProvider.type !== 'string') {
+    throw new Error('Given IdentityProvider doesn\'t have a field \'type\'')
+  }
+
+  if (identityProviders[IdentityProvider.type]) {
+    throw new Error(`Type already added: ${IdentityProvider.type}`)
+  }
+
+  identityProviders[IdentityProvider.type] = IdentityProvider
+}
 
 // export { default as DIDIdentityProvider } from './did.js'
 // export { default as EthIdentityProvider } from './ethereum.js'
-export * as PublicKeyIdentityProvider from './publickey.js'
+export { identityProviders, addIdentityProvider, getProviderFor, PublicKeyIdentityProvider }
diff --git a/src/index.js b/src/index.js
index 0c5f00f..8de08df 100644
--- a/src/index.js
+++ b/src/index.js
@@ -1,8 +1,39 @@
-export { default as OrbitDB } from './orbitdb.js'
-export { databaseTypes, addDatabaseType } from './orbitdb.js'
-export { default as OrbitDBAddress, isValidAddress, parseAddress } from './address.js'
+export {
+  default as OrbitDB,
+  databaseTypes,
+  addDatabaseType
+} from './orbitdb.js'
+
+export {
+  default as OrbitDBAddress,
+  isValidAddress,
+  parseAddress
+} from './address.js'
+
 export { Log, Entry, DefaultAccessController } from './oplog/index.js'
+
 export { default as Database } from './database.js'
+
 export { default as KeyStore } from './key-store.js'
-export { Identities, isIdentity } from './identities/index.js'
-export { IPFSBlockStorage, LevelStorage, LRUStorage, MemoryStorage, ComposedStorage } from './storage/index.js'
+
+export {
+  addAccessController,
+  removeAccessController,
+  getAccessController,
+  accessControllers
+} from './access-controllers/index.js'
+
+export {
+  Identities,
+  isIdentity,
+  identityProviders,
+  addIdentityProvider
+} from './identities/index.js'
+
+export {
+  IPFSBlockStorage,
+  LevelStorage,
+  LRUStorage,
+  MemoryStorage,
+  ComposedStorage
+} from './storage/index.js'
diff --git a/src/orbitdb.js b/src/orbitdb.js
index 0bad08d..b7faf8c 100644
--- a/src/orbitdb.js
+++ b/src/orbitdb.js
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ import OrbitDBAddress, { isValidAddress } from './address.js'
 import Manifests from './manifest.js'
 import { createId } from './utils/index.js'
 import pathJoin from './utils/path-join.js'
-import * as AccessControllers from './access-controllers/index.js'
+import { getAccessController } from './access-controllers/index.js'
 import IPFSAccessController from './access-controllers/ipfs.js'
 
 /**
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ const OrbitDB = async ({ ipfs, id, identity, keystore, directory } = {}) => {
       manifest = await manifests.get(addr.path)
       const acType = manifest.accessController.split('/', 2).pop()
       const acAddress = manifest.accessController.replaceAll(`/${acType}/`, '')
-      AccessController = AccessControllers.get(acType)()
+      AccessController = getAccessController(acType)()
       accessController = await AccessController({ orbitdb: { open, identity, ipfs }, identities, address: acAddress })
       name = manifest.name
       type = type || manifest.type
@@ -234,4 +234,4 @@ const OrbitDB = async ({ ipfs, id, identity, keystore, directory } = {}) => {
   }
 }
 
-export { OrbitDB as default, OrbitDBAddress, addDatabaseType, databaseTypes, AccessControllers }
+export { OrbitDB as default, OrbitDBAddress, addDatabaseType, databaseTypes }
diff --git a/test/fixtures/providers.js b/test/fixtures/providers.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ceca4b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fixtures/providers.js
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+const customIdentityProvider = () => {
+  const verifyIdentity = async (data) => { return true }
+
+  const CustomIdentityProvider = () => {
+    const getId = () => { return 'custom' }
+
+    const signIdentity = (data) => { return `signature '${data}'` }
+
+    return {
+      getId,
+      signIdentity,
+      type: 'custom'
+    }
+  }
+
+  return {
+    default: CustomIdentityProvider,
+    type: 'custom',
+    verifyIdentity
+  }
+}
+
+const fakeIdentityProvider = () => {
+  const verifyIdentity = async (data) => { return false }
+
+  const FakeIdentityProvider = () => {
+    const getId = () => { return 'pubKey' }
+
+    const signIdentity = (data) => { return `false signature '${data}'` }
+
+    return {
+      getId,
+      signIdentity,
+      type: 'fake'
+    }
+  }
+
+  return {
+    default: FakeIdentityProvider,
+    verifyIdentity,
+    type: 'fake'
+  }
+}
+
+const CustomIdentityProvider = customIdentityProvider()
+const FakeIdentityProvider = fakeIdentityProvider()
+
+export { CustomIdentityProvider, FakeIdentityProvider }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/identities/identities.test.js b/test/identities/identities.test.js
index 71f83a3..2b58584 100644
--- a/test/identities/identities.test.js
+++ b/test/identities/identities.test.js
@@ -3,8 +3,9 @@ import rmrf from 'rimraf'
 import { copy } from 'fs-extra'
 import { toString as uint8ArrayToString } from 'uint8arrays/to-string'
 import KeyStore, { signMessage, verifyMessage } from '../../src/key-store.js'
-import { Identities, addIdentityProvider, Identity, PublicKeyIdentityProvider } from '../../src/identities/index.js'
+import { Identities, identityProviders, addIdentityProvider, Identity, PublicKeyIdentityProvider } from '../../src/identities/index.js'
 import testKeysPath from '../fixtures/test-keys-path.js'
+import { CustomIdentityProvider, FakeIdentityProvider } from '../fixtures/providers.js'
 
 const type = PublicKeyIdentityProvider.type
 const keysPath = './testkeys'
@@ -14,6 +15,15 @@ describe('Identities', function () {
     await copy(testKeysPath, keysPath)
   })
 
+  afterEach(async () => {
+    // reset the identityProviders.
+    for (const [key] of Object.entries(identityProviders)) {
+      if (key !== 'publickey') {
+        delete identityProviders[key]
+      }
+    }
+  })
+
   after(async () => {
     await rmrf(keysPath)
   })
@@ -213,30 +223,8 @@ describe('Identities', function () {
     })
 
     it('false signature doesn\'t verify', async () => {
-      const IP = () => {
-        const verifyIdentity = async (data) => { return false }
-
-        const FakeIdentityProvider = () => {
-          const getId = () => { return 'pubKey' }
-
-          const signIdentity = (data) => { return `false signature '${data}'` }
-
-          return {
-            getId,
-            signIdentity,
-            type: 'fake'
-          }
-        }
-
-        return {
-          default: FakeIdentityProvider,
-          verifyIdentity,
-          type: 'fake'
-        }
-      }
-
-      addIdentityProvider(IP())
-      identity = await identities.createIdentity({ type: IP().type })
+      addIdentityProvider(FakeIdentityProvider)
+      identity = await identities.createIdentity({ type: FakeIdentityProvider.type })
       const verified = await identities.verifyIdentity(identity)
       assert.strictEqual(verified, false)
     })
@@ -345,4 +333,16 @@ describe('Identities', function () {
       assert.strictEqual(verified, false)
     })
   })
+
+  describe('manage identity providers', () => {
+    it('has default identity providers', () => {
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(identityProviders, { publickey: PublicKeyIdentityProvider })
+    })
+
+    it('can add an identity provider', () => {
+      addIdentityProvider(CustomIdentityProvider)
+
+      assert.deepStrictEqual(identityProviders, { publickey: PublicKeyIdentityProvider, custom: CustomIdentityProvider })
+    })
+  })
 })
diff --git a/test/orbitdb-access-controllers.test.js b/test/orbitdb-access-controllers.test.js
index f6170a4..2b81131 100644
--- a/test/orbitdb-access-controllers.test.js
+++ b/test/orbitdb-access-controllers.test.js
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import { strictEqual, deepStrictEqual, notStrictEqual } from 'assert'
 import rmrf from 'rimraf'
 import * as IPFS from 'ipfs-core'
-import OrbitDB, { AccessControllers } from '../src/orbitdb.js'
+import OrbitDB from '../src/orbitdb.js'
+import { accessControllers, addAccessController, removeAccessController } from '../src/access-controllers/index.js'
 import config from './config.js'
 import pathJoin from '../src/utils/path-join.js'
 
@@ -38,7 +39,7 @@ describe('Add a custom access controller', function () {
     }
 
     // Remove the added custom database type from OrbitDB import
-    AccessControllers.remove(type)
+    removeAccessController(type)
 
     await rmrf('./orbitdb')
     await rmrf('./ipfs1')
@@ -51,7 +52,7 @@ describe('Add a custom access controller', function () {
         'orbitdb'
       ]
 
-      deepStrictEqual(Object.keys(AccessControllers.types), expected)
+      deepStrictEqual(Object.keys(accessControllers), expected)
     })
 
     it('throws and error if custom access controller hasn\'t been added', async () => {
@@ -71,7 +72,7 @@ describe('Add a custom access controller', function () {
 
   describe('Custom access controller', function () {
     before(() => {
-      AccessControllers.add(CustomAccessController)
+      addAccessController(CustomAccessController)
     })
 
     it('create a database with the custom access controller', async () => {
@@ -83,7 +84,7 @@ describe('Add a custom access controller', function () {
     it('throws and error if custom access controller already exists', async () => {
       let err
       try {
-        AccessControllers.add(CustomAccessController)
+        addAccessController(CustomAccessController)
       } catch (e) {
         err = e.toString()
       }
@@ -98,7 +99,7 @@ describe('Add a custom access controller', function () {
         type
       ]
 
-      deepStrictEqual(Object.keys(AccessControllers.types), expected)
+      deepStrictEqual(Object.keys(accessControllers), expected)
     })
 
     it('can be removed from supported access controllers', async () => {
@@ -107,9 +108,9 @@ describe('Add a custom access controller', function () {
         'orbitdb'
       ]
 
-      AccessControllers.remove(type)
+      removeAccessController(type)
 
-      deepStrictEqual(Object.keys(AccessControllers.types), expected)
+      deepStrictEqual(Object.keys(accessControllers), expected)
     })
   })
 })