Estonian eID: ID card, Residence Permit Card & Diplomatic Card Peer Review

Project's Background

In late 2025, SpearIT was invited to serve as rapporteur for Topic 1 in the European peer review of Estonia's new-generation electronic identity documents: the national identity card, the residence permit card and the diplomatic identity card, supporting their notification at Level of Assurance "High", the highest tier recognised under the eIDAS Regulation.

Under the eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 910/2014), a citizen's national electronic identity (eID) can be used to prove who they are when accessing online services both at the national and cross-border levels. Before a country's eID can be trusted and accepted in this way, it must pass a rigorous, collaborative check by experts from other Member States. This process is known as a peer review, and it is the mechanism that builds mutual trust between countries.

Our Contribution

SpearIT's role as the Rapporteur for the enrolment and identity proofing processes for the 3 eIDs was about coordinating the peer review experts, formulating and channelling questions to the Estonian authorities, examining the evidence provided against each requirement of the Regulation, and consolidating the group's findings into a clear, defensible opinion. The outcome confirmed that Estonia's identity-proofing and enrolment processes meet the demanding requirements of Level of Assurance "High".

About the new Estonian eIDs

Estonia is widely regarded as a global leader in electronic government and has issued identity cards with digital functionality since 2002. Since November 2025, Estonia began issuing a new generation of ID-1 format documents, including a redesigned national identity card, residence permit card and diplomatic identity card. The identity and residence permit cards are issued by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PBGB), and the diplomatic identity card by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The new documents are built on public key infrastructure (PKI) and qualified signature creation device (QSCD) smartcards, enabling secure authentication, legally binding qualified electronic signatures and document encryption. Certification and qualified trust services for the new generation of documents are provided by Zetes Estonia OÜ (a subsidiary of Zetes SA), with the document blanks and personalisation supplied by Thales DIS Finland OY. All of these eID means are designed to satisfy the eIDAS Level of Assurance "High".

Project's Outcome

The outcome of this collaboration was the cross-border acceptance of the Estonian ID card, Residence Permit card and Diplomatic Identity card for LoA High and more specifically:

• For Estonian citizens and residents, notification of the updated scheme means their electronic identity can continue to be used to access public and private services throughout the European Union, reinforcing trust and enabling seamless cross-border digital interactions with one of Europe's most advanced eID ecosystems.
• For the Estonian authorities responsible for the eIDs, the peer review provided expert validation of the new documents' readiness and a clear account of the refinements needed to sustain EU-wide mutual recognition at Level of Assurance "High".
• For SpearIT, this project further consolidated our expanding role in Europe's digital identity ecosystem.By serving as Topic 1 rapporteur in the peer review of one of the world's most mature and closely studied national eID schemes, we demonstrated our ability to support the full range of stakeholders in navigating the eIDAS notification process with confidence and rigour.

For more information about the new Estonian eIDs, visit: https://www.ria.ee/en/state-information-system/electronic-identity-eid-and-trust-services/electronic-identity-eid