eHerkenning

eHerkenning is the Dutch eID scheme for organisations, letting employees log in to government and business services with a registered mandate.

eHerkenning is the Dutch eID scheme for organisations: employees and authorised representatives log in to (mostly government) services on behalf of a company, with the mandate registered in the scheme. It is delivered by accredited private providers within one framework - formally the Afsprakenstelsel Elektronische Toegangsdiensten (ETD); this framework predates and is gradually being brought under the Wdo, which has been entering into force in phases since 2023, with the transition to formal Wdo recognition for eHerkenning still ongoing. Unlike DigiD, which is free for individuals, eHerkenning is a paid service with a subscription per user.

eHerkenning currently issues assurance levels EH2+, EH3 and EH4 (EH1 and EH2 have both been phased out). These levels have been mapped to the eIDAS low, substantial and high levels of assurance respectively through a national equivalence assessment carried out as part of the Dutch notification of eHerkenning to the European Commission - the eIDAS regulation itself only defines the generic low/substantial/high concepts, not this specific mapping. eHerkenning is an authentication (login) means only: it establishes who is logging in and on whose behalf, but it does not itself create qualified electronic signatures or qualified electronic seals, which require separate trust services. Services prescribe the level they require; well-known examples include the Belastingdienst (tax authority), UWV (employment agency) and Mijn Overheid voor Ondernemers, each of which sets its own required level for specific transactions. Sole proprietorships (eenmanszaken) are a notable exception: because there is no legal separation between the owner and the business, they can often use DigiD instead of eHerkenning for services such as tax filing. The mandate registration - who may act for which company, for which service - is its distinguishing feature compared to citizen means like DigiD; eHerkenning also supports chain mandates (ketenmachtiging), letting an accountant, tax adviser or other intermediary log in on behalf of a client company.