Glossary · E

eIDAS regulation

A man signs a document at a service counter

Definition

eIDAS is Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services. Among other things, it governs electronic signatures, seals and the cross-border recognition of national eID schemes.

How do you prove who you are online, and when does a digital signature count like a handwritten one? The eIDAS regulation gives a common European answer. The full text is on EUR-Lex.

#Two pillars

Electronic identification: national eID schemes, such as the German online ID card, are notified and recognised in other member states. There are three assurance levels: low, substantial and high.
Trust services: electronic signatures, seals, timestamps, delivery services and website certificates, provided by trust service providers, some of them qualified and supervised.

#Three signature levels

Level	Characteristic	Typical use
Simple (SES)	Any electronic confirmation, such as a typed name	Informal declarations, internal approvals
Advanced (AdES)	Uniquely linked to the signatory, changes detectable	Contracts with no form requirement
Qualified (QES)	Advanced, with a qualified certificate and secure signature creation	Replaces handwritten signatures

Which level you need depends on the transaction. Many contracts have no form requirement. Under German law, where written form is required and electronic form is not excluded, only a qualified signature replaces the handwritten one (section 126a of the Civil Code).

#What it means for customer service

Many cases stall at two points: who is on the other end, and how does the signature happen? Until now the answer has often been an ID copy, a printout and a letter.

eIDAS makes both possible digitally and with legal weight, in the same contact. That saves days and avoids broken hand-offs that cause errors and follow-up questions.

#eIDAS 2.0 and the EUDI Wallet

The amending Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 introduces the European Digital Identity Wallet, or EUDI Wallet. Every member state has to provide one.

People carry their identity and credentials on their phone and release exactly what a service needs. For customer contact that means fewer ID copies, less retyping and more certainty.

Identify and sign during the conversation, without switching media. Sample.

#eIDAS in the Univerx Channel

The Univerx Channel brings identification and signature into the ongoing customer conversation. It is designed for the German online ID card and eIDAS identities as well as signatures under eIDAS, and prepared for the EUDI Wallet.

Details in the Trust Center under eIDAS & online ID. How it comes together in citizen services is shown in the guide Digital citizen service: identity, documents, case.

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