Definition
eIDAS
Europe's regulation setting the rules for electronic signatures and digital identity across all EU countries.
In Depth
Officially Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, eIDAS is the framework that defines the three signature tiers: simple, advanced, and qualified. It also governs related trust services like timestamps and electronic seals, and it requires member states to recognise each other's qualified signatures.
This is the clearest case of regional divergence. "EU eIDAS" is the original regulation. After Brexit the UK converted it into domestic law as "UK eIDAS," keeping the structure but amending it to work on its own, which is why the two are now separate and no longer automatically recognise each other's qualified providers. The US has no eIDAS-style regulation at all; it uses ESIGN and UETA instead.
Sources
- EU: Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), EUR-Lex official journal - A qualified electronic signature shall have the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature.
- UK: Guide to eIDAS (UK Information Commissioner's Office)
The eIDAS Regulation ... was retained in UK law after the UK left the EU, and is often referred to as 'UK eIDAS'.