Yes, eIDAS 2.0 can be used for academic credential verification. Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, which amends Regulation (EU) 910/2014, provides a legal and technical framework that allows educational institutions to issue diplomas, degrees, and certificates as verifiable digital credentials, which students and graduates can store and share securely through the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet. This applies to any organisation operating within the EU, including universities, vocational training providers, and professional certification bodies. The sections below walk through how this works in practice, what it means for institutions and employers, and where the real challenges lie.
What types of academic credentials can eIDAS 2.0 support?
eIDAS 2.0 can support a wide range of academic credentials, including university degrees, diplomas, vocational qualifications, professional certificates, and course completion records. Any educational achievement that can be formally attested by a recognised institution is a candidate for issuance as a verifiable digital credential under the eIDAS 2.0 framework.
The regulation does not limit credential types to a specific list. What matters is that the issuing institution is a trusted entity within the ecosystem, and that the credential follows the technical standards set out in the Architecture and Reference Framework (ARF) for the EUDI Wallet. The ARF provides the technical elaboration of requirements; the legally binding obligations are established in the implementing acts adopted under the regulation. Credentials can range from a bachelor’s degree to a short-form professional development certificate, as long as the data is structured, signed, and linked to a verified identity.
The large-scale pilot programmes that tested the EUDI Wallet ahead of its broader rollout included education certification as a priority use case. The DC4EU pilot, which ran from April 2023 to 2025, explored how the wallet could carry proof of educational credentials such as diplomas and degrees, making it easier for holders to apply for jobs or further education across borders. This gives the education sector a clear signal that the infrastructure was built with academic credentials firmly in scope.
How does the EUDI Wallet handle academic credential sharing?
The EUDI Wallet allows a graduate or student to store their academic credentials as verifiable digital documents and share them selectively with employers, universities, or other organisations. The wallet holder controls exactly what is shared, with whom, and when. Selective disclosure means a holder can present individual attributes or credentials without revealing unrelated data.
When an institution issues a credential, it signs it digitally using a qualified electronic seal. That signed credential is then delivered into the holder’s EUDI Wallet. From that point, the holder can present it to any verifying party, such as an employer or a foreign university. Verification involves three distinct checks: confirming the issuer’s signature against the relevant national trusted list, which is part of the EU List of Trusted Lists (LOTL); checking the revocation status using the issuer’s status information; and validating the wallet unit attestation to confirm that the presenting wallet runs on a certified wallet solution. Only the first of these checks can be completed fully offline, so describing verification as entirely independent of the issuer is not accurate.
Selective disclosure is one of the most important features of the wallet. A graduate applying for a job does not need to share their full academic transcript if only a specific qualification is relevant. They can present just that credential, keeping the rest of their data private. This approach reflects the data minimisation principles embedded in both eIDAS 2.0 and the GDPR, giving users genuine control over their personal information.
It is worth noting that the EUDI Wallet ecosystem does not rely on a single central European authority that operationally manages all wallets. Responsibility is distributed: the European Commission manages the legal framework and adopts implementing acts; Member States provide or mandate wallet solutions, certify and notify them, and supervise actors within their jurisdiction; the European Digital Identity Cooperation Group supports cross-border alignment; and qualified trust service providers, issuers, and relying parties each carry specific obligations within this shared governance structure.
What is the difference between eIDAS 2.0 and existing academic credential frameworks?
The key difference is that eIDAS 2.0 provides a legally recognised, cross-border infrastructure, while existing academic credential frameworks such as Europass or institutional digital transcripts are largely voluntary, fragmented, and not always interoperable. eIDAS 2.0 creates a single technical and legal foundation that works across all EU Member States.
Existing frameworks like Europass allow individuals to self-report qualifications in a standardised format, but they do not provide cryptographic verification. An employer receiving a Europass CV has no technical means to confirm the stated credentials are genuine without contacting the issuing institution directly. This creates friction, delays, and opportunities for fraud.
eIDAS 2.0 changes this by introducing verifiable credentials as a legally recognised format. A credential issued under eIDAS 2.0 carries a qualified electronic seal from the issuing institution, making it tamper-evident and independently verifiable. The recipient does not need to contact the university or wait for a paper certificate. Verification draws on the national trusted lists and the issuer’s revocation information rather than a manual call to the institution.
Another distinction is scope. Existing academic credential systems were designed primarily for education-to-education or education-to-employment journeys. eIDAS 2.0 is a general-purpose identity and trust infrastructure that connects the education sector to finance, healthcare, government, and beyond. A credential stored in the EUDI Wallet can be used for job applications and for accessing regulated services that require proof of qualification.
Cross-border use under eIDAS 2.0 is designed so that a certified wallet from one Member State can be used with an appropriate relying party in another Member State. However, this does not mean that every credential automatically carries the same legal consequence in every country, that national registration requirements disappear, or that sector-specific legislation is overridden. Which elements are interoperable at European level and which remain national or sector-specific will depend on the use case and the applicable national framework. Recognition of professional qualifications, for example, continues to run through Directive 2005/36/EC.
Are universities legally required to issue credentials via eIDAS 2.0?
Universities are not currently required by eIDAS 2.0 to issue academic credentials in digital wallet format. The regulation mandates that Member States make the EUDI Wallet available and that certain relying parties accept it, but it does not compel educational institutions to issue credentials through the wallet ecosystem.
That said, the direction of travel is clear. The regulation creates the infrastructure and the legal recognition. As adoption grows and Member States implement national wallet solutions, pressure on educational institutions to participate will increase, both from students expecting digital credentials and from employers and other organisations that prefer wallet-based verification over manual processes.
Some Member States may go further than the minimum EU requirements and introduce national obligations for public universities to issue verifiable credentials. Institutions that wait for a legal mandate before acting risk falling behind peers that are already building the capability. For organisations exploring what this means for their sector, digital identity in the education and science sector is an area where early preparation pays off.
How can employers verify academic credentials through eIDAS 2.0?
Employers can verify academic credentials through eIDAS 2.0 by acting as a relying party within the EUDI Wallet ecosystem. A job applicant presents their credential from their wallet, and the employer’s verification system checks the issuer’s signature against the relevant national trusted list, confirms the revocation status, and validates the wallet unit attestation. The process can be completed quickly and without manual follow-up with the university, provided the necessary status information is available online.
To receive credentials, employers need to register as a relying party under CIR (EU) 2025/848, adopted on 6 May 2025, with the national authority of the Member State in which they are established, before they can request wallet data. Registration requires specifying, per intended use, which attributes and attestations will be requested. The wallet checks each presentation request against this registered scope. This does not require building everything from scratch, as verification infrastructure can be integrated into existing HR onboarding systems, applicant tracking platforms, or background screening workflows.
The practical benefit for employers is significant. Credential fraud is a real problem in recruitment, and traditional verification processes are slow and resource-intensive. With eIDAS 2.0, an employer can confirm that a candidate holds the degree they claim, issued by the institution they name, with a structured and tamper-evident credential. This is especially valuable for cross-border hiring within the EU, where verifying foreign qualifications has historically been cumbersome.
Organisations in regulated sectors, such as financial services or healthcare, where proof of professional qualification is a compliance requirement, stand to benefit most from this capability. Connecting credential verification to a broader digital identity and trust infrastructure means qualification checks can be embedded directly into onboarding and compliance workflows.
What challenges should institutions expect when implementing eIDAS 2.0 for credentials?
Institutions implementing eIDAS 2.0 for academic credential issuance should expect challenges in four main areas: technical integration, governance, change management, and cross-border interoperability. None of these are insurmountable, but they require deliberate planning and the right expertise.
On the technical side, institutions need to issue credentials in the correct format, sign them with a qualified electronic seal, and register as a trusted issuer within the relevant trust framework. The ARF specifies mdoc and SD-JWT VC as the supported credential formats. For many universities, meeting these requirements means updating or replacing legacy student records systems that were not designed with verifiable credentials in mind.
Governance presents its own set of questions. Who within the institution is responsible for credential issuance? How are revocations handled when a credential needs to be withdrawn, for example if a degree is rescinded? What happens when a student disputes the data in their credential? These processes need to be defined before any technical implementation begins.
Change management is often underestimated. Staff across registrar offices, IT departments, and student services need to understand the new processes. Students need to be guided on how to claim and use their digital credentials. Without clear communication and training, adoption will be slow even if the technical infrastructure is in place. It is also worth noting that when a student moves to a new device, attestations must be re-issued by the institution, because private keys held in the wallet unit do not leave the secure element and cannot simply be copied across.
Finally, cross-border interoperability remains a practical challenge. The legal deadline for Member States to fulfil their EUDI Wallet obligations is 24 December 2026, but this date should not be read as a guarantee that every national wallet will reach the same level of maturity simultaneously, or that every cross-border use case will be fully operational throughout Europe on that date. National rollout, certification and notification, and acceptance by relying parties are distinct steps that will develop in phases across Member States. Institutions with a significant international student population or partners in multiple countries should plan for a transition period where both digital and traditional credential formats will need to coexist, and should begin their own preparations without waiting for a single European go-live moment.
- Technical integration: Updating student record systems to issue signed, wallet-compatible credentials in mdoc or SD-JWT VC format
- Governance design: Defining issuance, revocation, and dispute processes before going live
- Change management: Training staff and guiding students through the new credential lifecycle, including re-issuance when devices change
- Interoperability: Managing variation between national wallet implementations across EU Member States
How TrustTech supports academic credential verification
Academic credential verification under eIDAS 2.0 sits at the intersection of regulatory compliance, technical infrastructure, and trusted data exchange. The ID Connector is an integration that lets relying parties accept every certified European wallet, whatever Member State issued it, for identification, login and qualified signing. EUDI Wallet acceptance comes first; the same interface also carries other IDs, such as national eIDs, bank IDs and identity documents, inside and outside the EU.
For the education sector, this means universities, employers, and public sector organisations can implement verifiable credential flows within the EUDI Wallet ecosystem without building each component from scratch. Whether the need is issuing digital diplomas, verifying qualifications at scale, or embedding credential checks into onboarding and compliance workflows, the ID Connector provides the technical integration layer to make that possible.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
- Credential issuance infrastructure: Setting up the technical capability to issue signed, wallet-compatible academic credentials in mdoc or SD-JWT VC format that meet eIDAS 2.0 standards
- Trusted list verification: Checking issuer signatures against the relevant national trusted lists, part of the EU List of Trusted Lists, so verifiers can confirm credential authenticity without contacting the issuing institution directly for each check
- Revocation and wallet unit attestation checks: Confirming revocation status and validating that the presenting wallet runs on a certified wallet solution, as part of a complete verification flow
- Verification workflows: Integrating credential verification into HR, onboarding, or compliance processes for employers and regulated organisations
- Registered attribute scope management: Ensuring that each presentation request stays within the attributes and attestations registered per intended use under CIR (EU) 2025/848
- Reusable identity flows: Connecting academic credential verification to broader identity proofing and qualification workflows, so verified data can be reused across interactions
- Compliance alignment: Ensuring your implementation meets eIDAS 2.0 requirements alongside GDPR and sector-specific obligations
TrustTech’s approach to digital identity is built on practical implementation experience across regulated sectors, including government, financial services, and education. If your organisation is ready to explore what eIDAS 2.0 means for academic credential verification, get in touch with TrustTech to start the conversation.