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Summaries of EU Legislation

EU digital COVID certificate

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EU) 2021/953 on the EU digital COVID certificate

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

It establishes the European Union (EU) digital COVID certificate, which is a harmonised framework for proof of COVID-19 vaccination, test or recovery. The certificate is designed to:

be secure and interoperable*;
help holders exercise their rights to free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic;
be a coordinated way of facilitating travel, should EU Member States put in place restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

KEY POINTS

The framework covers how the following certificates are issued, accepted and verified.

Vaccination certificate. Confirms that the person has received a COVID-19 vaccine and contains information about the vaccine, the number of doses given and the date of vaccination. Vaccination certificates will be issued by the Member State where the vaccination was administered.
Test certificate. Confirms that the person has had a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT test*) or an antigen test* listed in the EU’s common list of COVID-19 antigen tests to test for an infection with the virus causing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), including information about the test, the date and time of the test and the result. Test certificates will be issued by the Member State where the test took place.
Certificate of recovery. Confirms that the person has recovered from a SARS-CoV-2 infection following a positive result of a NAAT test or an antigen test listed in the EU’s common list of COVID-19 antigen tests, including the date of the positive test. Recovery certificates will be issued by the Member State where the recovered person is located.

Member States issue separate certificates for each vaccination dose, test result or recovery, with the following characteristics:

in digital or paper format;
with a quick-response code (QR code) to aid verification and to protect from falsification;
free of charge;
in the official language(s) of the Member State and in English;
valid in all Member States.

The certificates only include a limited amount of necessary information, which cannot be retained by verifiers. For verification purposes, only the validity and authenticity of the certificate is checked, by verifying the digital signature of the issuing authority stored in the QR code.

Certificate signatures can be verified across the EU.

Where a Member State accepts proof of vaccination, testing or recovery to waive certain free movement restrictions, they are obliged to accept the EU certificates issued by other Member States under the same conditions.

For the purpose of travel within the EU, vaccination certificates issued after completion of the primary vaccination cycle are valid for 270 days. Member States should only accept certificates if no more than 270 days have passed since the last dose. This acceptance period is limited to persons aged 18 and above. Certificates issued for booster doses do not have a maximum validity. Recovery certificates expire at the latest 180 days after the positive test result. Test certificates do not state an expiry date.

Amending Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/483 enhances the trust framework by supporting the bilateral exchange of certificate cancellation lists between Member States where certificates have been issued erroneously, as a result of fraud or following the suspension of a COVID-19 vaccine batch found to be defective.

Possession of the certificate must not:

be a precondition for exercising the right to free movement;
lead to discrimination on the basis of the possession of a specific category of certificate.

Cross-border passenger transport service operators that are required by national law to implement certain public health measures during the COVID-19 pandemic may verify – but not retain – the information in the certificates. They should also integrate the certificate system into their operations at airports, ports and railway and bus stations.

A separate recommendation adopted by the Council of the European Union covers the question of easing the restrictions on free movement within the EU. The basic principle is that anyone exercising their right of free movement who has a valid EU digital COVID certificate should not be subject to additional restrictions, such as further tests, save for exceptional situations. However, as the recommendation is non-binding, each Member State has some discretion in how to apply it. Therefore, while every Member State has to accept the certificate as valid proof, there is some variation in the consequences for the holders.

The domestic use of COVID-19 certificates, such as to regulate access to events, restaurants, sport venues, public transport or the workplace, does not fall within the scope of the EU digital COVID certificate regulation. Member States may indeed use the EU digital COVID certificate for domestic purposes, but are required to provide for a legal basis in national law that must comply with data protection requirements, among other conditions.

Equivalence of COVID-19 certificates with non-EU countries

Where a non-EU country issues interoperable certificates in compliance with the necessary technical standards, the European Commission may adopt implementing decisions (‘equivalence decisions’) establishing that the COVID-19 certificates issued by that country are equivalent to the EU digital COVID certificates.

This results in the non-EU country concerned being connected to the EU digital COVID certificate system. The certificates issued by that country must then be directly accepted under the same conditions as the EU certificates.

So far, the Commission has adopted such decisions regarding the following non-EU countries:

Switzerland (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1126)
Vatican City State (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1272)
San Marino (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1273)
Ukraine (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1380)
North Macedonia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1381)
Türkiye (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1382)
Andorra (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1476)
Albania (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1477)
Faroes (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1478)
Monaco (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1479)
Panama (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1480)
Morocco (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1481)
Israel (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1482)
Armenia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1894)
United Kingdom (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1895)
New Zealand (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1993) and, in respect of the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau, Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1949)
Moldova (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1994)
Georgia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1995)
Serbia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/1996)
Togo (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2056)
Singapore (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2057)
El Salvador (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2113)
Lebanon (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2187)
United Arab Emirates (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2188)
Cabo Verde (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2189)
Tunisia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2296)
Montenegro (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2297)
Uruguay (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2298)
Thailand (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2299)
Taiwan (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/2300)
Benin (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/206)
Jordan (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/207)
Colombia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/533)
Malaysia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/534)
Seychelles (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/724)
Vietnam (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/725)
Indonesia (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/726)
South Korea (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1096)
Madagascar (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1097)
Kosovo* (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1098)
Bahrain (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1099)
Ecuador (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1100)
Philippines (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1338)
Oman (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1339)
Peru (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1340)
Brazil (Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/1948).

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It was initially set to apply for 12 months, from 1 July 2021 until 30 June 2022. However, on 29 June 2022, the European Parliament and the Council adopted an extension of the regulation until 30 June 2023.

As the impact of a possible increase in infections cannot currently be predicted, and also depends on whether or not new variants emerge, the extension will allow people to continue using their certificate to travel across the EU should a rise in infections make it necessary for Member States to temporarily reintroduce travel restrictions during the second half of 2022 and first half of 2023.

However, this extension should not be understood as requiring EU Member States, in particular those that lift domestic public health measures, to maintain or impose free movement restrictions.

BACKGROUND

Regulation (EU) 2021/954 relates to the EU digital COVID certificate and to non-EU nationals legally staying or residing in the EU.

For further information, see:

EU digital COVID certificate (European Commission)
The EU digital COVID certificate, vaccinations and travel restrictions (European Commission)
Coronavirus response (European Commission)
Re-open EU (European Union).

KEY TERMS

Interoperable. Capable of verifying systems in a Member State to use data encoded by another Member State.

NAAT test. A molecular nucleic acid amplification test, such as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, loop-mediated isothermal amplification and transcription-mediated amplification techniques, used to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid.

Antigen test. A test relying on detecting viral proteins (antigens) using a lateral flow immunoassay, giving results in less than 30 minutes.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EU) 2021/953 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2021 on a framework for the issuance, verification and acceptance of interoperable COVID-19 vaccination, test and recovery certificates (EU Digital COVID Certificate) to facilitate free movement during the COVID-19 pandemic (OJ L 211, 15.6.2021, pp. 1–22).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 2021/953 have been incorporated in the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

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