Identity verification

Identity verification (identity proofing) confirms someone's identity with the required assurance before issuing a qualified certificate or wallet PID.

Identity verification (identity proofing) is establishing with the required assurance that someone is who they claim to be, before issuing a credential such as a qualified certificate or wallet PID. Amended eIDAS Article 24(1a) sets out several accepted routes for qualified issuance: identification via a notified eID or the EUDI Wallet at assurance level high, via a qualified certificate, or via other methods that provide "a high level of confidence" and whose conformity is confirmed by a Conformity Assessment Body.

Methods include face-to-face checks, NFC reading of the passport chip combined with biometric face matching, video identification, or reuse of an existing high-assurance eID. The requirements are detailed in ETSI TS 119 461. Identity verification is also the foundation of customer due diligence under the Wwft.

Verification is normally carried out once, before or during issuance; reuse of an earlier identification is time-limited, and re-identification is required on renewal or after expiry. Verification differs from authentication, which is the repeated proof afterwards that someone holds the credential.