FAQEU

EU eIDAS Regulation Attribute Attestations

Electronic attestations of attributes are eIDAS trust-service objects that let a user prove specific attributes, such as age, address, qualifications, mandates, permits, or company data, without turning every attribute proof into electronic identification.

This FAQ explains the difference between EAA, QEAA, and public-sector authentic-source attestations, plus the wallet, issuer, legal-effect, revocation, and relying-party checks that matter.

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Sorena AI
Published
May 9, 2026
Updated
May 26, 2026
Questions
3

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6

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Sorena AI
Published May 9, 2026
Updated May 26, 2026
Overview

Under the amended eIDAS Regulation, an electronic attestation of attributes is not just a generic claim about a user. The regulation gives special treatment to qualified electronic attestations of attributes and to attestations issued by, or on behalf of, a public sector body responsible for an authentic source. A relying party should therefore check the category of attestation, the issuer's authority, the wallet presentation, the validity status, and whether the requested attributes are necessary for the service.

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3 of 3 questions
Question 1

What is an electronic attestation of attributes under eIDAS?

An electronic attestation of attributes is a regulated way to prove facts about a natural or legal person through the eIDAS trust-service framework. eIDAS covers electronic attestation of attributes alongside signatures, seals, timestamps, electronic documents, registered delivery, website authentication, archiving, and electronic ledgers.

The important distinction is the type of attestation. A non-qualified EAA can still have legal effect and evidentiary value, but a QEAA must meet Annex V requirements and be issued by a qualified trust service provider. A separate category covers attestations issued by, or on behalf of, a public sector body responsible for an authentic source; those must meet Annex VII and the additional Article 45f requirements.

  • Treat EAA as attribute proof, not automatically as electronic identification.
  • Classify the attestation as non-qualified EAA, QEAA, or public-sector authentic-source EAA before relying on it.
  • For a QEAA, verify that the attestation identifies the qualified trust service provider, the subject, the attested attributes and their scope, validity period, unique attestation identity code, qualified signature or seal, supporting certificate location, and validity-status service.
  • For a public-sector authentic-source EAA, verify the issuing public body, the authentic-source basis, the subject, the attested attributes, validity period, identity code, qualified signature or seal, supporting certificate, and status-check location.
Citations
Question 2

Who can issue QEAAs and authentic-source attestations?

A QEAA is issued by a qualified trust service provider and must be able to show, in machine-processable form, that it is a qualified electronic attestation of attributes. eIDAS also requires Member States to make measures available so qualified trust service providers can verify certain public-sector attributes electronically, at the user's request, against authentic sources or recognised intermediaries.

A public-sector authentic-source attestation is different: it is issued by, or on behalf of, a public sector body responsible for the authentic source. The Member State must ensure those bodies meet a reliability and trustworthiness level equivalent to qualified trust service providers, notify them to the Commission, and make the public list available through a secure signed or sealed channel.

  • For QEAAs, check the qualified trust service provider identity and whether the service has qualified status for the relevant attestation service.
  • For public-sector authentic-source attestations, check whether the public body is responsible for the authentic source or designated to act on its behalf.
  • For attributes such as address, age, nationality or citizenship, educational and professional qualifications, mandates, permits, licences, and company data, check whether the attribute relies on a public-sector authentic source and whether electronic verification is available.
  • Do not accept issuer branding alone as proof of authority; check the attestation category, certificate, signature or seal, status information, and relevant trusted-list or registry information.
Citations
ETSI TS 119 612 trusted lists

Supports the relying-party need to authenticate and trust EU trusted lists and the Commission List of Trusted Lists when checking trust-service status.

Question 3

How should wallets and relying parties use attribute attestations?

For wallet use, eIDAS requires providers of electronic attestations of attributes to let EUDI Wallet users request, obtain, store, and manage attestations regardless of the Member State where the wallet is provided. Providers of QEAAs and public-sector authentic-source attestations must provide an interface with EUDI Wallets.

For relying parties, the practical check is not only whether a credential verifies cryptographically. The EUDI Wallet Architecture and Reference Framework describes an ecosystem in which wallets let users request attestations from trusted issuers, store them, and present them to relying parties with user control, selective disclosure, relying-party authentication, issuer authorisation checks, and revocation/status checks.

  • Authenticate the relying party before the wallet presents attributes, and show the user whether the relying party is registered to receive the requested attributes.
  • Request only attributes needed for the service, because selective disclosure and user approval are core wallet controls.
  • Verify the issuer is authorised to issue the relevant attestation type; where available, inspect the issuer registration certificate or query the relevant registry.
  • Check whether the attestation or its signing certificate has been revoked, because revoked QEAAs and public-sector authentic-source attestations lose validity from revocation and status must not revert.
  • Keep the relying-party purpose, requested attributes, user approval, issuer authority check, certificate and status-check result, attestation validity period, and revocation outcome together as evidence of the relying decision.
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References and citations

ETSI TS 119 612 trusted lists
etsi.org
Referenced sections
  • Supports the relying-party need to authenticate and trust EU trusted lists and the Commission List of Trusted Lists when checking trust-service status.
"Trusted Lists"
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