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Digital name of the citizen

Every Estonian has a government-issued digital identity. Everyone can safely identify themselves, digitally sign documents and use e-services with their ID-card, mobile-ID or Smart-ID. The ID card is the only mandatory ID document in Estonia. To date, ID cards have been issued to 99% of Estonia’s population. The ID card serves as digital access to all e-services offered in Estonia.

Here are some examples of how it is regularly used in Estonia:

• as a legal travel ID for Estonian citizens travelling within the EU

• as a national health insurance card

• as proof of identification when logging into bank accounts

• for digital signatures

• for i-Voting

• to check medical records, submit tax claims, etc.

In Estonia, the identity of a person is based on a permanent individual ID code called the personal identification code. This is a unique combination of numbers based on the person’s gender and date of birth, allowing for the identification of a specific person. The code is not considered sensitive personal data, and it can be made public for identification purposes.