ID Austria and Digitales Amt: Registration and Key Information

ID Austria is Austria’s digital identification solution and will replace Handy-Signatur as an electronic identification method. With the Digitales Amt app, you can prove your identity digitally, use Austrian online services and create electronic signatures.

ID Austria is available from all registration authorities. Existing Handy-Signatur users can switch online in some cases, without completing a new in-person identification procedure.

Who can use ID Austria?

You must meet the following conditions to apply for ID Austria:

• You are at least 14 years old, after your 14th birthday.
• You have a smartphone with the latest version of the Digitales Amt app installed.
• Face or iris recognition, such as Face ID, or fingerprint identification, such as Touch ID, is activated on your smartphone.
• You have completed identification with an authority.

There is an exception for Handy-Signatur users whose Handy-Signatur is already registered at an authority. They can switch online to ID Austria without completing identification again. If the Handy-Signatur was not registered at an authority, an online switch to the basic function of ID Austria is possible.

ID Austria can also be used with a FIDO security key and a telephone number or signature card.

The start of the regular ID Austria operating phase

The regular operating phase of ID Austria began on 5 December 2023. For ID Austria users, this did not create any change. Handy-Signatur was fully replaced by ID Austria for web and app logins.

If you still use Handy-Signatur, you can switch online. Open the ID Austria login screen, for example on the oesterreich.gv.at website, and select the “Von Handy-Signatur umsteigen” link. You can also start the process in the Digitales Amt app.

Bürgerkarte was also replaced by ID Austria.

What can ID Austria do?

ID Austria can be used as an electronic identity for online procedures and for electronic signatures. It can also display identification documents in digital form, such as a driving licence or proof of age. Physical documents remain valid.

Electronic signatures

ID Austria complies with all European requirements for electronic signatures. A qualified signature made with ID Austria has the same status as a handwritten signature throughout the EU, with the exceptions set out in Section 4 of the Signatur- und Vertrauensdienstegesetz. This means that it can be used to sign electronically anywhere in Europe.

Login and identification

The login function provides electronic proof of the user’s identity for Austrian online procedures and applications. Other EU countries must accept ID Austria as equivalent to their own eIDs at the highest security level. Austrian web applications can also be accessed and used from abroad with the ID Austria function.

Digital identification documents

ID Austria can display identification documents, including a driving licence, on a smartphone. The validity of the driving licence for traffic checks is initially limited to Austria. ID Austria does not replace the travel document required for crossing a border.

When an official service is available online, ID Austria can also make it possible to complete the procedure without appearing in person.

What happens to an existing Handy-Signatur?

Handy-Signatur was replaced by ID Austria on 5 December 2023. When you log in with Handy-Signatur, you will be guided through the steps required to switch. You can open the ID Austria login screen, for example on the oesterreich.gv.at website, and select “Von Handy-Signatur umsteigen”, or log in through the Digitales Amt app.

If Handy-Signatur was registered at an authority, for example through a municipal office or FinanzOnline, you can switch online to the full functionality of ID Austria.

If Handy-Signatur was not registered at an authority, for example through A1, a post office or social insurance, new official identification is required. First complete the online switch from Handy-Signatur to the basic function of ID Austria on the oesterreich.gv.at website or in the Digitales Amt app. Then visit a registration authority to obtain ID Austria with full functionality.

After an online switch, ID Austria with full functionality continues for the remaining validity period of Handy-Signatur. The validity can be extended online through the “ID Austria verlängern” menu item.

The basic version of ID Austria also keeps the remaining validity period of Handy-Signatur, but it cannot be extended. You can check the validity period of Handy-Signatur or basic ID Austria under “Meine ID Austria verwalten” and then “Signatur-Zertifikatsdaten einsehen”.

How to check whether Handy-Signatur was officially registered

Under “Signatur-Zertifikatsdaten einsehen”, log in with Handy-Signatur and view the certificate information. It will state either “behördlich” or “nicht behördlich”.

If Handy-Signatur was registered at an authority, for example through a municipal office or FinanzOnline, it can be switched directly online to ID Austria with full functionality. If it was not officially registered, it can only be switched online to the basic function of ID Austria.

Registration locations recognised as authorities

• The highest federal or provincial authority
• A mayor’s office
• A district administrative authority
• The Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance
• FinanzOnline

Switching from Handy-Signatur to the basic function

You can switch Handy-Signatur to the basic function of ID Austria through the online process. Follow the switching steps and skip the step for upgrading to full functionality, which requires entering the identification number.

The basic version of ID Austria provides the same functional environment as Handy-Signatur. Signing with SMS-TAN remains possible. The basic version retains the remaining validity period of Handy-Signatur but cannot be extended.

Practical steps

1. Install the latest version of the Digitales Amt app on your smartphone.
2. Activate Face ID, iris recognition or fingerprint identification on the smartphone.
3. If you use Handy-Signatur, open the ID Austria login screen on oesterreich.gv.at or use the Digitales Amt app.
4. Select “Von Handy-Signatur umsteigen” and follow the online instructions.
5. Check “Signatur-Zertifikatsdaten einsehen” to see whether your Handy-Signatur is marked “behördlich” or “nicht behördlich”.
6. If it is officially registered, complete the online switch to full functionality. Otherwise, switch online to the basic function and then visit a registration authority for official identification.
7. After registration, manage your account through “Meine ID Austria verwalten”.