In short
Since 2014, European Regulation 910/2014, known as “eIDAS”, has governed electronic identification and trust services (signatures, seals, time stamps…) Art. 1 How it began: digital identity across the EU. Regulation 2024/1183 amended it in depth; it entered into force on 20 May 2024 Art. 2 How it began: digital identity across the EU. It creates the European Digital Identity Wallet and new trust services, and reorganises supervision Art. 5a(1) Art. 3(16) Art. 46a. The text to read is Regulation 910/2014 as amended, supplemented by implementing acts Art. 5a(23).
eIDAS in a few words
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of 23 July 2014 deals with electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market of 23 July 2014. The European Commission calls it the “eIDAS regulation” How it began: digital identity across the EU.
Its aim is twofold: to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market and to provide an adequate level of security for electronic identification means and trust services, so that everyone can securely access public and private online services throughout the Union Art. 1. Two notions lie at the heart of the text:
- an electronic identification means is a material and/or immaterial unit that contains person identification data and is used for authentication for an online service, or, where appropriate, an offline service Art. 3(2). These means are issued under an electronic identification scheme, that is, a system under which electronic identification means are issued to persons Art. 3(4);
- a trust service is an electronic service, normally provided for remuneration, that issues or validates certificates, creates or validates electronic signatures and seals, creates time stamps, archives, and so on Art. 3(16).
Today, the regulation defines its scope as follows:
This Regulation applies to electronic identification schemes notified by a Member State, to
European Digital Identity Wallets provided by a Member State and to trust service providers
established in the Union.
It does not apply to trust services used exclusively within closed systems resulting from national law or from agreements between a defined set of participants Art. 2(2). It does not affect the rules on the conclusion and validity of contracts Art. 2(3), and it applies without prejudice to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Art. 2(4).
2014: the first eIDAS regulation
Regulation 910/2014 was published in the Official Journal of 28 August 2014 of 23 July 2014. Most of its provisions apply from 1 July 2016 Art. 52(2). On that date, it repealed Directive 1999/93/EC Art. 50(1), which the Commission presents as the Community framework for electronic signatures adopted in 1999 Our history and milestones.
It laid down two pillars, which remain in place:
- mutual recognition of electronic identities. When an online public service requires electronic identification, it must recognise the identification means issued in another Member State, provided that the means falls under a scheme notified to the Commission, that its assurance level is substantial or high and at least equal to the one required for that service, and that the service itself uses the substantial or high level Art. 6(1). A means at assurance level low may be recognised, without obligation Art. 6(2). The assurance level (low, substantial or high) expresses the degree of confidence in the claimed identity Art. 8(2);
- a legal framework for trust services: electronic signatures, seals and time stamps, electronic registered delivery, certificates for website authentication Art. 1.
According to the Commission, this first regulation made it possible to use notified national electronic identities to access online public services in another country How it began: digital identity across the EU.
Why a revision?
The Commission explains the revision by changing practices:
But our digital landscape has continued to evolve, with public and private sector services
increasingly offered online, creating a growing need for secure digital authentication.
Put simply: more and more services, public and private, are moving online and need secure authentication. The Commission adds that concerns about profiling and surveillance have grown How it began: digital identity across the EU.
Regulation 2024/1183 sets out its own reasons in its recitals, that is, the statement of reasons placed before the articles. It recalls that, as early as 2020, the Commission had announced a revision of Regulation 910/2014 to improve its effectiveness, extend its benefits to the private sector and promote a trusted digital identity for all Europeans amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing the European Digital Identity Framework. It then lays down a principle:
Union citizens and residents in the Union should have the right to a digital identity that
is under their sole control and that enables them to exercise their rights in the digital
environment and to participate in the digital economy.
The recitals also point to a practical problem: fragmentation due to divergent national solutions, or to the absence of any solution in some Member States, creates risks and costs amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing the European Digital Identity Framework. Hence the stated ambition:
The European Digital Identity Framework is intended to achieve a shift from the reliance on
national digital identity solutions only, to the provision of electronic attestations of
attributes valid and legally recognised across the Union.
An electronic attestation of attributes is an attestation in electronic form that allows the authentication of attributes, that is, characteristics, qualities, rights or permissions of a person or an object Art. 3(43) Art. 3(44). Among the attributes that Member States must allow to be verified against authentic sources, the regulation lists address, age, educational qualifications, titles and certificates, and public permits and licenses Annex VI.
Regulation 2024/1183 was adopted on 11 April 2024 of 11 April 2024, following the position of the European Parliament of 29 February 2024 and the decision of the Council of 26 March 2024 Art. 2. It was published in the Official Journal on 30 April 2024 Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 of 23 July 2014. It provides:
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The Commission states that it entered into force on 20 May 2024 How it began: digital identity across the EU.
A point of vocabulary. The name “eIDAS 2” does not appear in the texts: Regulation 2024/1183 states that it amends Regulation 910/2014 as regards establishing the “European Digital Identity Framework” amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing the European Digital Identity Framework. The Commission refers to the 2014 version as “eIDAS 1” Our history and milestones. On this site, “eIDAS 2” means Regulation 910/2014 as amended by Regulation 2024/1183.
What changes
Regulation 2024/1183 does not replace Regulation 910/2014: it amends it. It inserts new articles and replaces others, which are found in the amended text. The table presents the main new features. The right-hand column points to the passage of Regulation 2024/1183 that introduced them.
| New feature | What the regulation now provides | Introduced by |
|---|---|---|
| European Digital Identity Wallet | Each Member State provides at least one wallet Art. 5a(1); it is free of charge for natural persons and its use is voluntary Art. 5a(13) Art. 5a(15) | Art. 5a |
| Wallet-relying parties | A service that intends to rely on the wallet registers in its Member State Art. 5b(1) | Art. 5b |
| Mandatory acceptance | Where they require online identification or authentication, public services, private companies required by law or by contract to use strong user authentication (excluding micro and small enterprises) and very large online platforms will also have to accept the wallet; for the last two categories, only upon the voluntary request of the user Art. 5f(1) Art. 5f(2) Art. 5f(3) | Art. 5f |
| Cross-border identity matching | When acting as relying parties for cross-border services, Member States ensure unequivocal identity matching for persons using a notified means or a wallet Art. 11a(1) | Art. 11a |
| Non-qualified providers | They manage their risks and notify any significant incident no later than 24 hours after becoming aware of it Art. 19a(1) | Art. 19a |
| Remote signature and seal | The management of remote signature or seal creation devices is a trust service; as a qualified service, only a qualified provider may carry it out Art. 3(16)(f) Art. 29a Art. 39a | Art. 29a Art. 39a |
| Web browsers | They recognise qualified certificates for website authentication and display the identity data provided in a user-friendly manner Art. 45 Art. 45a(1) | Art. 45 Art. 45a |
| Electronic attestation of attributes | New trust service, qualified or not; the qualified attestation has the same legal effect as a lawfully issued attestation in paper form Art. 3(16)(g) Art. 45b(2) | Art. 45b |
| Electronic archiving | New trust service, with a qualified version Art. 3(48) Art. 45j | Art. 45i |
| Electronic ledgers | New trust service: recording data in a sequence that ensures their integrity and chronological ordering Art. 3(52) Art. 45l | Art. 45k |
| Supervision and cooperation | A chapter on governance: supervisory bodies for wallets and for trust services, single points of contact, European cooperation group Art. 46a Art. 46b Art. 46c Art. 46e(1) | CHAPTER IVa |
For the last two services, the recitals explain the legislator’s choice. For archiving, many Member States had adopted national requirements; a common legal framework is meant to bring legal certainty, trust and harmonisation. Electronic ledgers, for their part, ensure the integrity of records and the accuracy of their chronological ordering amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing the European Digital Identity Framework.
The Commission summarises the contributions in its own way. Among the elements it presents as new, it cites the possibility of sharing only the identity data needed for a given service:
Empowers citizens and businesses to use digital identity solutions linked to specific
attributes.
It also presents the acceptance of qualified trust services across Europe as improved The European Digital Identity Framework improves on the eIDAS regulation in several ways.
The actors of this new framework are presented in step 2, and the wallet in detail in step 3.
Timeline
The timeline shows the key dates, detailed in the table that follows.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 23 July 2014 | Adoption of Regulation 910/2014, published in the Official Journal of 28 August 2014 | of 23 July 2014 |
| 1 July 2016 | Application of most provisions of Regulation 910/2014; repeal of Directive 1999/93/EC | Art. 52(2) Art. 50(1) |
| 3 June 2021 | Commission Recommendation (EU) 2021/946 on a common Union toolbox for a coordinated approach towards a European Digital Identity Framework | of 3 June 2021 |
| 2021 | Proposal for a revision presented by the Commission | How it began: digital identity across the EU |
| 29 February 2024 | Position of the European Parliament | Art. 2 How it began: digital identity across the EU |
| 26 March 2024 | Decision of the Council | Art. 2 |
| 11 April 2024 | Adoption of Regulation 2024/1183 | of 11 April 2024 |
| 30 April 2024 | Publication of Regulation 2024/1183 in the Official Journal | Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 |
| 20 May 2024 | Entry into force of Regulation 2024/1183 (the twentieth day following its publication) | Art. 2 How it began: digital identity across the EU |
| 21 November 2024 | Date set for the Commission to establish the wallet implementing acts | Art. 5a(23) |
| 21 May 2025 | Date set for the Commission for several other acts, for example on the annual reports of supervisory bodies | Art. 46a(7) Art. 46b(7) |
| 21 May 2026 | End of two transitional measures (qualified certificates issued to natural persons under Directive 1999/93/EC; remote management without qualified status); deadline for the conformity assessment report of providers granted qualified status before 20 May 2024 | Art. 51(2) Art. 51(3) Art. 51(4) |
| 21 May 2027 | End of the transitional measure for secure signature creation devices recognised under Directive 1999/93/EC | Art. 51(1) |
The dates of 21 November 2024 and 21 May 2025 are deadlines set for the Commission by the regulation. They do not say when the acts were adopted: Implementing Regulation 2024/2977, for example, is dated 28 November 2024 of 28 November 2024. The provision of the wallet and its acceptance by certain private relying parties are counted from the entry into force of its implementing acts Art. 5a(1) Art. 5f(2); these deadlines are presented with step 3: the wallet, timeline and specifications.
The rest of this step presents the texts involved and their hierarchy: the texts of eIDAS 2.
Consolidation without official value
This page cites the consolidated versions, published on EUR-Lex, of Regulation 910/2014 and of Implementing Regulation 2024/2977 Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 — consolidated version of 18/10/2024 Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2977 — consolidated version of 11/08/2026. These consolidations are documentation tools: only the texts published in the Official Journal of the European Union are authentic.
Key points
- Regulation 910/2014 (“eIDAS”) governs electronic identification and trust services Art. 1.
- Regulation 2024/1183 amends it; it entered into force on 20 May 2024 Art. 2 How it began: digital identity across the EU.
- Its aim: a digital identity under each person’s sole control, recognised across the Union amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 as regards establishing the European Digital Identity Framework.
- Main new features: the wallet, three new trust services (attestations of attributes, archiving, electronic ledgers) and a common supervisory framework Art. 5a Art. 3(16) Art. 46a.
- Several transitional measures end on 21 May 2026, the last one on 21 May 2027 Art. 51.
Written by Asphalia.