e-Residency card certificates end on 9 December 2026

On 9 December 2026 the certificates of a large group of older e-Residency cards will be revoked. After that date such a card can no longer be used to log in to e-services or to give a digital signature. If you run an Estonian company with one of these cards, it affects how you sign the annual report, register changes and other company documents. This guide explains which cards are affected, what the Police and Border Guard Board advises, and what to arrange for your company before the date.

The guide is general information. Every fact about the cards comes from the Police and Border Guard Board's page Cards issued until August 2023, read on 17 October 2026. Check that page for any later change.

Which cards are affected

• Cards issued between 10 December 2021 and 16 August 2023, with document numbers UA0051053 to UA0076261. The Board puts the number of affected cards at more than 19,000.
• The affected card holders received a personal e-mail about it, sent to the e-mail address they gave in their application.
• From 9 December 2026 the card can no longer be used electronically: no login to e-services and no digital signature.

The reason given by the Board is the stricter certification requirements of Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2.0). Because of them its contractual partner cannot renew the certification of the card's chip. The Board states that no security risk has been found in the cards and that all transactions already made with them remain valid.

What the Board advises

The Board names two steps for continuing to use e-Residency after 9 December 2026.

1. Register or update a free Smart-ID before 9 December. If you register Smart-ID with your current card before that date, the Smart-ID certificates are valid for three years, or until your card's own expiry date if that comes sooner. To register you need the card, its six-digit CAN, PIN1 and PIN2. A phone that supports NFC makes it easier. If you already have Smart-ID, check in the app when its certificates expire. If they expire before your card does, renew them before 9 December by deleting the Smart-ID account and registering again with the card.
2. Reapply for e-Residency. This is the full application again, and it ends with a new card. The Board recommends doing it as soon as possible.

The second step matters even if you have Smart-ID. Smart-ID is tied to the device you register it on, and after 9 December an affected card can no longer register Smart-ID on a new device. If you lose that phone, or your Smart-ID certificates expire before the new card arrives, you lose access to e-services and digital signing until you have the new card. An e-resident's right to use Smart-ID also depends on holding a valid e-Residency status and a valid document.

Time and fee for a new card

• State fee: 150 euros for reviewing the application, paid by card when you apply. It is not refunded if the card is refused (How much and how to pay).
• Decision: within 30 days of the application. After that, the card takes 2–5 weeks to reach the pick-up location you chose (Procedural time limit).
• Application in person: you fill in and submit the application yourself. The Board does not allow submission through an intermediary, legal bureau or service provider. We cannot apply for you either.
• Validity: digital IDs issued since 1 May 2018 are valid for five years (E-Resident's digital ID).

A new application in mid-October therefore leaves little margin before 9 December. Smart-ID is the bridge the Board itself recommends for that gap. The steps of the application are in our guide how to apply for Estonian e-residency.

What it means for your Estonian company

The company itself is not affected: its registration, its board and its transactions stay as they are. What changes is how you, as a board member, sign. Check now which company tasks fall into the weeks when you may have no working card:

• The annual report is signed digitally and submitted to the commercial register. If you cannot sign digitally, we can prepare and submit the annual reports by power of attorney (€300 once per order, however many reports).
• Register changes — articles, business name, board, address — cost €490 with your digital signature. By power of attorney they cost €990, because the documents are then signed at a notary.
• A power of attorney for a single change or transaction can be drafted in two languages for signing before a notary abroad (€70).
• Upcoming dates: a deadline calendar (€70) puts the recurring dates of your company into your own calendar. It includes the annual report and the renewal of the registered address and contact person.

If your card is not in the affected range, nothing changes on 9 December. Your card works until the expiry date printed on it. A new card is again a new application with the same state fee.

Not sure what to do first?

An e-resident consultation (€250) goes through your company's dates and signatures in writing. You can order the consultation or annual reports by power of attorney online. Smart-ID registration and the new e-Residency application are done by you, directly with the providers and the state.

Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email.

Ready to start? If you cannot sign digitally, we prepare and submit the annual reports by power of attorney — once per order, however many reports. Order.

Sources are named in the text, without links. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.

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