Germany's EUDI wallet d-you: Bundestag passes the law, launch on 2 January 2027
The Bundestag passed Germany's Digital Identities Act on 15 October 2026. The d-you wallet starts on 2 January 2027; qualified signing comes later.
On 15 October 2026 the German Bundestag passed the Digital Identities Act (Digitale Identitätengesetz, DIdG), the national law behind the EU Digital Identity Wallet in Germany. The government's wallet, d-you, is due to start on 2 January 2027, free of charge and voluntary for everyone who lives in Germany.
What changed
- The vote: the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition passed the government bill (21/7408) as amended in committee. The AfD, the Greens and the Left voted against.
- The law sets the national rules the eIDAS Regulation leaves to Germany, mainly which authorities are responsible. People will prove their identity with a smartphone and use digital documents with public and private services.
- Changes in committee: users can refuse to have their biometric photo in their identity data, the federal citizen account stays as a voluntary option, and attestations of attributes must be provided within 12 months instead of 24.
- Pseudonyms: in a resolution, the Bundestag asks the government to deliver the pseudonym function, which it calls mandatory under EU law, at the start or as soon as possible after.
Key dates and what d-you does
- 2 January 2027: d-you starts as a first stage, with about 40 launch partners. The ministry says apps will be ready to prove your age, conclude contracts with legal certainty and open a bank account.
- Later: the ministry lists qualified electronic signatures, pseudonymous logins and payments among the features d-you is to support in future.
- About 12 months after the start: other providers can have their wallets certified and recognised in Germany, under current planning.
eIDAS 2 requires every wallet to offer qualified signatures to natural persons by default and free of charge. The EU dates for Member States and businesses: EU Digital Identity Wallet: the December 2026 deadline.
What to do now
For contracts in Germany, nothing changes yet. A qualified electronic signature still has the same legal effect as a handwritten one, and until wallet signing arrives it is made with a qualified certificate from a trust service provider.
Dazr Sign gives a simple electronic signature with an audit trail and a sealed PDF for everyday documents. Where a document needs more, choose Signs with a qualified signature for that person: they sign with their own electronic ID card, a signing app or a qualified certificate, and Dazr Sign checks it against the EU trusted lists. Check which level your documents need: Which signature do I need?
Sources
- Deutscher Bundestag: Bundestag macht Weg für die EUDI-Wallet frei (15 October 2026, with the committee hearing of 6 October and the committee vote of 14 October)
- Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation (BMDS): EUDI-Wallet d-you
- BMDS press release 53/2026: d-you, Deutschland startet digitale Identität für alle (9 September 2026)
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2)
- Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), as amended, Article 25
For information only, not legal advice. Last updated 7 November 2026.
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