Document signing in the EU: digital identity wallets due by December 2026
Under eIDAS 2.0 every EU member state must offer a certified European Digital Identity Wallet by December 2026, with free qualified signatures for individuals by December 2027. What it means for document signing.
The EU's revised identity regulation (eIDAS 2.0) is reaching its first deadlines. By December 2026 every member state must offer at least one certified European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet. By December 2027 banks, telecoms, energy, transport and health providers and very large online platforms must accept it, and wallets must let individuals create qualified electronic signatures (QES) free of charge for non-professional use.
What it means for document signing
- Personal signatures: individuals in the EU will increasingly sign with their wallet.
- Business signing: organisations that sign invoices, contracts or reports in their own name - seals, signatures that open as trusted in PDF readers, high-volume signing - still use organisation document signing certificates.
- Qualified providers are being re-certified against the new technical standards, so expect product changes during 2026 and 2027.
Outside the EU
In India, Digital Signature Certificates under the Controller of Certifying Authorities remain the standard for statutory filings and are not affected by eIDAS.
Source: fintech.global ↗