Electronic Attestation of Attributes (EAA)

An Electronic Attestation of Attributes (EAA) is a credential issued by an attribute provider that attests to specific characteristics, qualities, rights, or permissions of a natural or legal person. Under eIDAS 2.0, EAAs are a new category of trust service that extends the wallet beyond basic identity verification into a rich ecosystem of verifiable claims.

EAAs can cover a wide range of attributes: educational qualifications (university degrees, professional certifications), health data (vaccination records, prescriptions), financial information (bank account ownership, credit scores), corporate attributes (power of representation, company registration), and everyday credentials (age verification, address confirmation, driving licence data). An EAA is issued by an attribute provider, which could be a public authority, a private entity, or a Qualified Trust Service Provider, and is cryptographically signed to ensure authenticity and integrity. When stored in the EUDIW, the holder can selectively present specific attributes from the EAA to relying parties as needed.

The key distinction in eIDAS 2.0 is between non-qualified EAAs and Qualified Electronic Attestations of Attributes (QEAAs). Non-qualified EAAs may be issued by any entity and carry no automatic legal presumption; their trustworthiness depends on bilateral agreements or sectoral rules.

QEAAs, by contrast, are issued by QTSPs and benefit from a legal presumption of accuracy, meeting specific regulatory requirements. For businesses, EAAs represent a major opportunity: organisations can both issue EAAs (as attribute providers) and consume them (as relying parties), enabling streamlined verification processes that reduce friction and improve user experience while maintaining regulatory compliance.