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eIDAS 2.0 and EUDI Wallets

The "Regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC" - eIDAS Regulation for short - came into force on 17 September 2014. It created an EU-wide standardised framework for the cross-border use of national electronic identification means and trust services.

What is eIDAS 2.0?

eIDAS 2.0 is a comprehensive revision of the original eIDAS Regulation from 2014. The amended regulation was adopted by the European Parliament on 29 February 2024 and entered into force on 20 May 2024. The amendment was necessary as the digital habits of citizens and the range of online services have changed considerably. An evaluation by the European Commission in 2020 showed that the original regulation was unable to fulfil all expectations and that the existing framework was not sufficiently geared towards the specific needs of certain sectors.

At the heart of the new regulation are the so-called EUDI Wallets. All EU member states are obliged to offer their citizens EUDI Wallets by the beginning of 2027.

What are EUDI-Wallets?

EUDI Wallets are digital wallets that will enable citizens to securely identify themselves digitally and to digitally store and manage a variety of documents such as driving licences, certificates, and insurance cards. The amended eIDAS Regulation (eIDAS 2.0) sets out specific requirements for EUDI Wallets that member states must take into account when implementing them.

Basic requirements for EUDI Wallets

  • Secure Identification: A European Digital Identity Wallet is an electronic means of identification that enables the user to securely store, manage and validate personal identification data and electronic attribute attestations (i.e. further evidence) for presentation to relying parties (e.g. public authorities or businesses) and other users of European Digital Identity Wallets and for signing by means of qualified electronic signatures or sealing by means of qualified electronic seals.
  • Combined proofs: The wallet enables the combination of different proofs and should be usable both online and offline.
  • Free of charge: The use of an EUDI Wallet must be free of charge and voluntary for citizens.
  • High security standards: Onboarding and provisioning are carried out at the "High" trust level.
  • Data protection: Exclusion of tracking and ensuring the unlinkability of user behaviour, including by issuers of evidence and by service providers.
  • Open source: The source code of the application software components of European digital identity wallets must be subject to an open-source licence.
  • Free QES: An EUDI Wallet must offer all natural persons the opportunity to sign documents free of charge using qualified electronic signatures - with the option of restricting free signatures to non-commercial purposes.

The following information should be confirmed/provided by the state in an EUDI Wallet: Address, age, gender, marital status, family composition, nationality or citizenship, educational qualifications, titles, and authorisations.

Requirements for service providers/ relying parties

  • Registration: In order to access an EUDI Wallet, a service provider must register in the Member State in which it is established. The registration process must be cost-effective and proportionate to the risk.
  • Data retrieval: Service providers may only retrieve the data for which they have registered and must identify or authenticate themselves to the user before retrieving data.
  • Pseudonyms: Service providers may not refuse the use of pseudonyms if the identification of the user is not required by Union or national law.
  • Data protection for intermediaries: Intermediaries acting on behalf of service providers may not store any data about the content of the transaction.
  • Authenticity and validity: Service providers must verify the authenticity and validity of European digital identity wallets.

Recognition of an EUDI Wallet in (cross-border) business transactions

  • Public services: Access to an online service provided by a public sector body that requires electronic identification and authentication must be enabled via any EUDI Wallet recognised in one of the Member States.
  • Private organisations: Private organisations (with the exception of micro and small enterprises) that are legally or contractually obliged to carry out (strong) online identification must accept an EUDI Wallet at the voluntary request of the user. This applies to sectors such as transport, banking, financial services, healthcare, postal services, education and telecommunications.
  • Large online platforms: Very large online platforms that require user authentication to access online services (e.g. login to Facebook, Google, Microsoft) must accept an EUDI Wallet at the voluntary request of the user.

Use cases for EUDI Wallets

EUDI Wallets will be used in a variety of everyday use cases. Some of the most prominent use cases are being trialled in large-scale pilot projects across Europe. The LSP POTENTIAL pilot project led by Germany and France, for example, is testing the interoperability of EUDI Wallets using six use cases:

  • eGovernment: Utilisation of government services (electronic administration)
  • Opening an account with a bank
  • Digital driving licence
  • SIM registration with mobile phone providers
  • Qualified electronic signature: legally secure digital signing
  • Electronic prescription (ePrescription): Digital transmission of medical prescriptions

Many more applications are also conceivable.

The architecture and consultation process is developing the basis for EUDI Wallets in Germany. At the same time, the basis for work at national level is being created at European level: With the Architecture Reference Framework (ARF) and its own reference implementations, the European Commission is showing what EUDI Wallets could look like.

More information on EUDI Wallets can be found on the website of the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/sites/display/EUDIGITALIDENTITYWALLET/EU+Digital+Identity+Wallet+Home

The full version of the adopted amendment to the eIDAS Regulation can be found here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202401183

Last update: May 15, 2025