European eHerkenning login
Need easy access to European public/private service providers? eHerkenning from We-ID is the answer. Everything you need to know..
eIDAS stands for ‘Electronic Identities And Trust Services’. With eIDAS, European member states have agreed to use the same concepts, trust levels and mutual digital infrastructure. One part of the regulation is the cross-border use of European-recognised login means.
What exactly is eIDAS?
For access to many public and private-sector services across Europe, you need to use an accredited ID. In the Netherlands, for example, the accredited IDs are eHerkenning and DigiD. European citizens with accredited IDs have the same service access in all European countries that support the system, which is called eIDAS. So a Dutch citizen who lives or works in Spain can use their Spanish ID to log in with the Dutch Tax Service and submit a tax return, for example. That’s because Spain’s ‘cl@ve’ is an eIDAS-approved system. However, not all public and private sector service providers support eIDAS. So, before trying to use a national ID to take care of business in another European country, it’s important to check that the organisations you’ll be dealing with are part of the eIDAS network.
Which European countries support international logins?
Although all EU countries plus Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland belong to the European Economic Area (EEA), not all those countries’ national IDs are approved and accepted throughout Europe. So, before trying to use a national ID to take care of business in another European country, it’s important to check that the organisations you’ll be dealing with are part of the eIDAS network.
Use this link (Dutch) to check which EEA countries’ national ID systems can be used elsewhere.
Set up your eHerkenning token for use around Europe
Before your eHerkenning token can be used in another European country, international validity needs to be enabled. You start the ball rolling by filling in an amendment form, on which you consent to your Public Service Number (BSN) being shared with We-ID for the one-off purpose of generating a unique ID number.
After that, whenever you use eHerkenning to log in with a service provider in another European country, it’s the unique number that is given to the service provider, not your BSN. Once we’ve generated your unique ID number, we delete your BSN from our database, as required by the GDPR. So your privacy is protected, and your personal data can’t be abused. If you don’t yet have a level-3 (EH3) eHerkenning token, you’ll need to request one.
Not all eHerkenning tokens are suitable for international use. The eHerkenning system has four distinct assurance levels. To access public and private-sector services in other European countries, you need assurance level EH3 or higher. In addition, the service provider needs to be a member of the eIDAS system.
Using eHerkenning in Europe: the benefits
eHerkenning is a great way to access public and private sector services in other European countries. Advantages include:
It’s easier to access public and private sector services around Europe with eHerkenning, because you don’t need to remember multiple logins and passwords. A single eHerkenning ID can be used in various European countries.
eHerkenning is a secure and reliable Dutch business ID that’s approved and accepted in other European countries. It’s the only ID that lets Dutch business users access many public and private services around Europe.
Prices
EH2+
3 years
€ 16,-
a year
Often used for:
Personal register
Mijn.RVO.nl
EH3
3 years
€ 29,95
a year
Tax Authority
Customs Service
UWV, DUO
Multiple Chamber of Commerce numbers
Give your employees access to a comprehensive CoC structure
Often used for:
2 or more CoC-numbers
Complex CoC structures
Big organisations
Questions about application
to my eHerkenning token?
You need to link a country-specific authorisation to your eHerkenning token, not a service-specific authorisation. You’ll then be able to use all eIDAS-enabled services in the country in question, including new ones added in the future. The authorisation for the country where you want to use eHerkenning can be found in the service catalogue (in the Control Module). You’ll need to tell your organisation’s Authorisation Manager which authorisation needs linking to your token. If you link a general authorisation to your eHerkenning token, you don’t need to link a country-specific authorisation as well.
Once you’ve given your consent, public and private-sector service providers in other European countries will process your personal data each time you log in with them. The service providers need the data (which comes from the National Personal Records Database) in order to deliver the relevant services. They also need to check your identity, to make sure that their services are used only by people who are entitled to use them. The data that’s processed will be at least your surname, forenames and date of birth. A service provider may sometimes need other data as well, such as your place of birth, your address, your gender and the surname and/or forenames you were given at birth.
If you don’t consent to the data being processed, you won’t be able to access the service in question.
eHerkenning elsewhere in Europe?
If your eHerkenning token is assurance level 3 (EH3), there will be a one-off charge for enabling access to a service provider in another European country. The one-off charge is payable in addition to your normal contract fee. The extra charge for processing your Public Service Number (BSN) and additional personal data to generate a unique identification number for international access is €10. We-ID eHerkenning tokens are available on one-year and three-year contracts. A one-year contract is €41, and a three-year contract costs €89.85. Request an eHerkenning token here.