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Trust in EAA Issuance and Presentation

Overview

Electronic Attestations of Attributes (EAA) provide a flexible form of electronic attribute attestations under eIDAS 2.0. They rely on scheme-based trust and existing acceptance structures, offering flexibility, scalability, and cost efficiency for use cases where document-equivalent evidentiary value is not required.

EAA are appropriate when

  • Existing acceptance relationships exist between issuer and relying parties
  • Document-equivalent evidentiary value is not legally required
  • Trust can be established through scheme-based governance
  • Cost efficiency and flexibility are important considerations

For guidance on choosing between EAA, QEAA, and PubEAA, see the Trust Overview and Decision Guide.

Trust Model for EAA

Scheme-Based Trust

For EAA, trust is established through rulebooks or schemes accepted by the relying party. These schemes define:

  • Credential semantics and attribute definitions
  • Authorized issuers and their requirements
  • Trust anchors and validation procedures
  • Acceptance conditions

Relying parties explicitly decide which schemes they accept and validate attestations accordingly. This makes EAA:

  • Contextual: Trust depends on the specific scheme
  • Purpose-bound: Schemes are designed for specific use cases
  • Verifier-driven: Relying parties choose which schemes to trust

Issuer Identity Assurance

EAA issuers are identified via Access Certificates issued by a Registrar, providing the same cryptographic security level as QEAA and PubEAA issuers.

The key difference from QEAA is not security, but the trust model:

Aspect EAA QEAA
Issuer identity verification Access Certificate from Registrar Access Certificate from Registrar
Trust anchor Scheme governance EU Trusted List
Evidentiary value Contextual / scheme-dependent Document-equivalent by law
Liability Contractual / scheme-based Statutory

Catalogues of Schemes for Attestation of Attributes

National Catalogues

Each member state maintains a national catalogue of schemes for the attestation of attributes. For Germany, this includes:

  • Scheme definitions and identifiers
  • Trust anchors and validation requirements
  • List of authorized issuers per scheme

For details on catalogue structure, registration, and governance, see Attribute Catalogues.

Trust-Relevant Content of a Credential Scheme

From a trust perspective, a credential scheme defines:

  1. Issuer requirements: Who may issue attestations under this scheme
  2. Verification rules: How relying parties validate the attestation
  3. Trust anchors: What certificates or keys are trusted

For credential design aspects (attribute definitions, revocation mechanisms, signatures), see Design Recommendations

Trust Architecture

Trust

Figure: Trust architecture for issuance and presentation of EAAs

For a description of general trust management between the participants of the ecosystem see Trust Validation Overview.

During EAA Issuance

The EAA issuer must:

  1. Authenticate to the Wallet using its Access Certificate
  2. Verify the Wallet Unit through Wallet Attestation and Key Attestation(s)
  3. Obtain attribute data from the authentic source (issuer's own data or authorized source)
  4. Issue the EAA signed according to the scheme requirements

The Wallet Unit:

  1. Verifies the issuer's Access Certificate against the national access certificate providers list
  2. Checks the revocation status of the issuer's certificate
  3. Optionally verifies scheme membership if required by the scheme
  4. Stores the EAA after successful validation

During EAA Verification

The Relying Party Instance:

  1. Presents its Access Certificate and Registration Certificate to the Wallet Unit
  2. Requests specific attributes according to its registered intended use
  3. Receives the EAA presentation from the Wallet

The Wallet Unit:

  1. Validates the RP's certificates against national trust lists
  2. Checks the RP's intended use against the requested attributes
  3. Obtains user consent for the presentation
  4. Creates and sends the presentation

The Relying Party then:

  1. Validates the EAA signature against the scheme's trust anchors
  2. Checks the EAA's validity via status lists
  3. Verifies the scheme membership of the issuer (if applicable)
  4. Applies acceptance rules according to its policies

EAA shall not be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the ground that:

  • They are in electronic form, or
  • They do not meet the requirements for qualified electronic attestations of attributes

Acceptance of EAA depends on:

  • Relying party policies
  • Contractual agreements
  • Market-related customs, conditions, and practices
  • Scheme governance rules

Use Cases for EAA

EAA are appropriate for:

  • Private sector attestations: Membership cards, loyalty programs, professional certifications (where document equivalence is not required)
  • Low to medium risk scenarios: Where official document quality is not legally mandated
  • Established trust relationships: Where issuer and relying parties have existing acceptance structures
  • Sector-specific schemes: Industry credentials with established governance
  • Self-issued attributes: Where the issuer attests their own characteristics

Primary Regulation

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS) as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2.0).

Key articles for EAA:

Article Topic
Article 45d Electronic attestation of attributes (general framework)
Article 45d(3) Legal effect of electronic attestation of attributes

ETSI Standards

Standard Topic
ETSI TS 119 472-1 General requirements for electronic attestations of attributes
ETSI TS 119 472-2 Presentation requirements
ETSI TS 119 472-3 Issuance requirements
ETSI TS 119 411-8 Access Certificates
ETSI TS 119 475 Registration Certificates