Upcoming changes to Belgian eID signing certificates

16/03/2026 Trust1team - Published on 16/03/2026- Last update :

Hello Dear Reader,

Major changes to the Belgian eID signing process are on the horizon — but with Trust1Team, your organisation can stay fully prepared and ahead of the curve.

Enjoy reading !

---

What's up!

Starting at the end of May 2026, the Belgian government will begin invalidating the signing certificates of the oldest eID cards. By the end of the year, more than two million cards will be affected. This means many users will no longer be able to sign documents digitally with their eID card when working offline.

Looking forward, citizens will need to request a cloud-based signing certificate each time they want to sign digitally. These certificates will remain valid for 500 days, while locally downloaded certificates will only be valid for 24 hours and will require re-authentication afterwards.

This evolution introduces new complexity for both end users and IT teams — but Trust1Team has already built the solution.

Our solutions

With the launch of Trust1Connector V4 at the end of April, we are introducing a powerful new release designed to make these changes virtually invisible for your users.

Trust1Connector V4 intelligently combines three proven solutions into one seamless experience:

• The trusted functionality of the existing Trust1Connector

• Truststore, based on the PKCS#11 standard which is also used by the Belgian government

• Trust1Sign — an intuitive application for fully legally binding, time-stamped electronic signatures

  
  

By integrating these capabilities, Trust1Team removes complexity, reduces support effort, and ensures business continuity for digital signing processes.

New Major Release

Please note that this evolution will also bring some operational changes. Trust1Connector will need to be installed in administrator space rather than user space.

In shared environments such as Remote Desktop or Citrix, signing will be supported for up to three users per device. The federal government is currently reviewing potential improvements for these scenarios.

To help you prepare smoothly, we will personally invite our customers from mid-April onwards for dedicated one-to-one sessions. During these meetings, we will explain the impact, demonstrate the new solution, and support you in starting your testing journey.

With Trust1Team, you can turn regulatory change into a seamless digital signing experience.

---

If you need more information about our authentication solution, get in touch and we will be happy to help you secure your application.