Person Identification Data (PID)

Person Identification Data (PID) is the foundational identity dataset within the European Digital Identity Wallet. It represents the minimum set of attributes necessary to uniquely identify a natural person, issued by or on behalf of a Member State. The PID typically includes the holder's family name, given name, date of birth, and a unique persistent identifier assigned by the issuing Member State.

Additional attributes such as nationality, place of birth, or address may also be included depending on national implementation. The PID is the trust anchor of the wallet ecosystem: it is the only credential in the wallet that is directly issued by a governmental authority (or its delegate), and it serves as the basis for linking other Electronic Attestations of Attributes to a verified identity. When a relying party requests identity verification via the wallet, the PID is the primary credential presented.

The issuance of PID must meet the high Level of Assurance as defined in the implementing acts, meaning that the identity proofing process, whether in person or remote, must provide a high degree of confidence that the claimed identity is genuine. The PID is issued in standardised credential formats (SD-JWT and mdoc) as specified by the Architecture Reference Framework, ensuring interoperability across all EU wallets. For organisations integrating with the EUDIW, the PID is the most common credential they will encounter.

Understanding its structure, the trust model behind it, and the verification process is essential for implementing compliant and secure relying party services.