Attestation Rulebook for attestations of type Authorised Signatories

Category: non-qualified EAA

• Author(s):

  • [Ricky Lamberty, Robert Bosch GmbH]
  • [Florin Coptil, Robert Bosch GmbH]
  • [Stephan-A Fuchs, Deutsche Bank AG]

• Previous Authors:

• Reviewer(s):

  • [Dominic Hurni, SBB]
  • [Werner Folkendt, Robert Bosch GmbH]

• Contact:

  • Florin Coptil
  • Stephan Fuchs

• Feedback:

Written against: ARF version 3.0.0, WE BUILD template version 1.0 (generic)

Feedback: GitHub issues

Table of contents

• 1 Introduction
  • 1.1 Document scope and purpose
  • 1.2 Document structure
  • 1.3 Key words
  • 1.4 Terminology
• 2 Compliance
  • 2.1 Compliance statement
  • 2.2 Regulatory basis
  • 2.3 Traceability
• 3 Attestation attributes
  • 3.1 Introduction
  • 3.2 Mandatory attributes
  • 3.3 Optional attributes
  • 3.4 Conditional attributes
• 4 Metadata
  • 4.1 Mandatory metadata
  • 4.2 Optional metadata
  • 4.3 Conditional metadata
  • 4.4 Code lists
  • 4.5 Integrity rules
• 5 Formats
  • 5.1 SD-JWT VC-based encoding
  • 5.2 ISO/IEC 18013-5-compliant encoding
  • 5.3 W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model-based encoding
• 6 Protocols
• 7 Issuance
  • 7.1 Binding
  • 7.2 Issuance Policy
  • 7.3 Lifecycle management
  • 7.4 Embedded disclosure policy
• 8 Revocation
• 9 Presentation
  • 9.1 Presentation Policy
  • 9.2 Presentation modes
  • 9.3 Transactional data
• 10 Trust Framework
• 11 References

1 Introduction

This attestation addresses the following question: Who is authorised to act (sign, transact, etc) on behalf of this legal entity?

The authority to act on behalf of a legal entity can be derived from two primary sources:

• Statutory Power: Authority based on a direct entry in a national public register (e.g., a Commercial Register).
• Delegated Power: Authority granted via a separate Power of Attorney (PoA) Attestation, which was issued by the company which issued the AuthorisedSignatories Attestation.

As a digital, verifiable list of natural persons possessing representation powers, this attestation enables a Relying Party (such as banks or fintechs) to confidently confirm that a specific person (the Signatory) has the authority to make binding commitments (e.g., signing a contract) in financial and contractual settings with third parties. This attestation is mandatory, for example, when opening a corporate bank account, though other business use cases may require the same type of verification.

1.1 Document scope and purpose

The AuthorisedSignatories Attestation records all natural persons who are authorised to act on behalf of a legal entity, providing comprehensive transparency on signatory rights and representation powers. This attestation is a critical component of both Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Supplier (KYS) processes within the EUDI Wallet ecosystem, supporting effective risk management, regulatory compliance, and anti-money laundering (AML) obligations.

Important distinctions:

• An Authorised Signatory does not need to be a registered Legal Representative.
• An Authorised Signatory does not need to meet any ownership or control threshold.
• A single person MAY hold both statutory and delegated authority simultaneously.

Note: This attestation is not a replacement for the Power of Attorney (PoA) Attestation.

Design Decisions

This AuthorisedSignatories Attestation Rulebook is based on:

• EU Company Certificate (EUCC) framework as the foundational legal identity layer
• Draft RTS on Customer Due Diligence under Article 28(1) of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624
• eIDAS 2.0 / EUDI Wallet framework for digital identity and verifiable attestations
• ISO 8601 for date formatting
• Submission Regulation – Commission on Implementing Regulation (EU) [number] on the formats for submitting beneficial ownership information.

1.2 Document structure

This Rulebook follows the generic WE BUILD attestation rulebook template. Chapter 2 states how it complies with the ARF and the applicable Regulations. Chapters 3 and 4 define the attributes and metadata in an encoding-independent manner. Chapter 5 states the formats in which this attestation is issued. Chapters 6 to 9 cover protocols, issuance, revocation and presentation. Chapter 10 sets out the trust framework, and chapter 11 lists references.

1.3 Key words

This document uses the capitalised key words 'SHALL', 'SHOULD' and 'MAY' as specified in [RFC 2119], to indicate requirements, recommendations and options.

In addition, 'must' (non-capitalised) indicates an external constraint, a requirement not mandated by this document but by an external document. The word 'can' indicates a capability. Other words such as 'will', 'is' and 'are' are statements of fact.

1.4 Terminology

Additional terminology specific to this attestation:

2 Compliance

2.1 Compliance statement

This Rulebook complies with the applicable requirements of Topic 12, Attestation Rulebooks, in Annex 2 of the Architecture and Reference Framework, version 3.0.0. It uses the terminology of Annex 1 of the ARF.

2.2 Regulatory basis

This attestation is not a qualified electronic attestation of attributes. The data described in Annex V points b, c and e of Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 is addressed as required by EW-DM-12-018 and as recommended by EW-DM-12-020 and EW-DM-12-022. Where a recommendation is not followed, the reason is stated below.

2.3 Traceability

Every applicable requirement mapped to the section that satisfies it. Requirements marked not applicable carry a stated reason.

3 Attestation attributes

Attributes are defined here in an encoding-independent manner (EW-DM-12-007). The encoding of each attribute is given in chapter 5.

3.1 Introduction

The AuthorisedSignatories Attestation is designed to provide a standardized, verifiable representation of all natural persons authorised to act on behalf of a legal entity. It enables Relying Parties to comprehensively verify signatory authority in financial and contractual settings, supporting effective KYC/KYS processes and regulatory compliance.

Data Model:

The AuthorisedSignatories Attestation is structured into a root object containing two distinct sub-objects:

AuthorisedSignatories
├── Legal_Entity (M)
│   ├─ legal_person  (M)
│   │   ├─ legal_person_name (tstr) (M)
│   │   ├─ legal_form_type (tstr) (M)
│   ├─ identifier  (M)                          // At least one identifier required
│   │   ├─ euid (str) (O)                       // European Unique Identifier
│   │   ├─ lei (str) (O)                        // Legal Entity Identifier per ISO 17442
│   │   ├─ tax (str) (O)                        // National tax or registration number    
│   │   ├─ gln (str) (O)                        // Global Location Number for legal entities, GS1 identifier
│   │   ├─ duns (str) (O)                       // Data Universal Numbering System, Dun & Bradstreet identifier
│   │   ├─ eori (str) (O)                       // Economic Operators Registration and Identification number, EU customs identifier
│   │   ├─ bpnl (str) (O)                       // Business Partner Number Legal entity, Catena-X identifier per ICD 0243
│   │   ├─ siren (str) (O)                      // Système d'Identification du Répertoire des ENtreprises, French company identifier
└── Authorised_Person [1..n] 
    ├─ NaturalPerson          (first_name (M), surname (M), date_of_birth (M))                                 , mandatory
    ├─ BirthPlace             (locality (M), country (M), region (O))                                          , mandatory
    ├─ Citizenship            (citizenship(s) [1..n])                                                          , mandatory
    ├─ PersonRole             (role (O), representation_type (M), email(O), phone(O))                           , mandatory
    └─ Identifier             (document_type (M), document_number (M), issuing_country (M), expiry_date (M))   , optional

Note: M - mandatory / O - optional.

Explanation:

The Legal_Entity object SHALL appear exactly once and contains:

• Legal_Person, the official legal name and legal form of the entity issuing the attestation.
• Identifier, the EUID (mandatory) and optionally LEI and/or tax registration number.

The Authorised_Person object SHALL appear at least once and MAY be repeated for each authorised signatory. Each instance contains:

• NaturalPerson, the full legal name and date of birth of the signatory.
• BirthPlace, the place of birth including at minimum locality and country.
• Citizenship, one or more citizenships held by the signatory.
• PersonRole, the role within the company (optional) and the representation type (mandatory).
• NaturalPersonIdentifier, optional identity document details for enhanced identification.

Attestation Classification:

This attestation type MAY be classified as:

• "EAA" Self-issued by the legal entity as part of its disclosures.
• "QEAA" issued by a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) for the legal entity based on the information in the registery ( means contains only the "Statutory Power" list)

3.2 Mandatory attributes

LegalPerson Attributes

NaturalPerson Attributes

This object is defined for each person represented in the AuthorisedSignatories Attestation.

BirthPlace Attributes

Citizenship Attributes

PersonRole Attributes

3.3 Optional attributes

LegalPersonIdentifier Optional Attributes

BirthPlace Optional Attributes

PersonRole Optional Attributes

NaturalPersonIdentifier Optional Attributes

When present, all four fields within this object SHALL be provided together.

3.4 Conditional attributes

No conditional attributes are defined for this attestation type. All attributes are either mandatory or optional as specified above.

4 Metadata

Metadata describes the attestation rather than its subject.

4.1 Mandatory metadata

Note: Only the additional mandatory attributes are listed; the mandatory attributes defined by the protocol are not specified.

Legal category. This Rulebook retains the attestation_legal_category attribute. Section 4.1 of the generic template replaces it with the category attribute of [ETSI TS 119 472-1], whose value for this category is eaa:eu:non-qualified. EW-DM-12-029, legacy ARB_25, of ARF version 3.0.0 is a SHALL that still requires attestation_legal_category, so the template and the ARF disagree. The attribute is left as written and the deviation is recorded for the rulebook quality assurance group.

4.2 Optional metadata

4.3 Conditional metadata

No conditional metadata elements are defined for this attestation type.

4.4 Code lists

4.4.1 Representation Type Codes

The representation_type attribute SHALL use one of the following standardized values:

Note: The representation type applies in the context of financial relationships (e.g., opening a bank account, currency account, credit line, etc.).

4.4.2 Type of Identity Document Codes

The document_type attribute, when present, SHALL use one of the following standardized values:

4.5 Integrity rules

The following integrity rules SHALL be enforced:

• The Authorised_Person array SHALL contain at least one entry in the AuthorisedSignatories Attestation.
• Each Authorised_Person entry SHALL contain first_name, surname, date_of_birth, citizenship, birth_place_locality, birth_place_country, and representation_type.
• Legal_Entity SHALL appear exactly once and SHALL contain legal_person_name, legal_form_type, and euid.
• date_of_birth SHALL be a valid ISO 8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD).
• citizenship SHALL be an array of one or more valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country codes.
• birth_place_country SHALL be a valid ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code.
• representation_type SHALL be one of the values defined in Section 2.8.1 ("SOLE" or "JOINT").
• document_type, when present, SHALL be one of the values defined in Section 2.8.2.
• document_expiry_date, when present, SHALL be a valid ISO 8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD).
• If any NaturalPersonIdentifier attribute is present, all four fields (document_type, document_number, issuing_country, document_expiry_date) SHALL be present together.
• euid SHALL be a non-empty string conforming to the format defined in Directive (EU) 2017/1132.
• lei, when present, SHALL be a 20-character string conforming to ISO 17442.
• issuance_date and expiry_date SHALL be valid ISO 8601 DateTimes.
• expiry_date SHALL be later than issuance_date.
• issuance_date SHALL be in the past.
• attestation_legal_category SHALL be "EAA".
• If trust_anchor_url is present, it SHALL be a valid URI.
• If schema_version is present, it SHALL be a non-empty string.
• Each attribute SHALL appear at most once within its scope (e.g., within a Legal_Entity or Authorised_Person object).
• If the technical validity period (expiry_date − issuance_date) exceeds 24 hours, the status claim SHALL be present, conforming to the structure defined in Section 3.2.2.

5 Formats

5.1 SD-JWT VC-based encoding

The AuthorisedSignatories Attestation uses the SD-JWT VC format to allow for selective disclosure of signatory attributes.

Selective Disclosure: Top-level claims (e.g., legal_entity, authorised_persons) SHALL be individually selectively disclosable, enabling a legal entity to disclose only the attributes requested by a Relying Party. Attributes nested within an Authorised_Person object (e.g., first_name, date_of_birth, representation_type) MAY be individually selectively disclosable as per the attribute encoding table below.

The . notation is used to indicate the nesting of attributes.

Verifiable Credential Type (vct): vct: eu.we-build:authorisedsignatories:1

5.1.1 Attribute Encoding Table

Notes:

• MUST: The claim SHALL be selectively disclosable, the holder MAY choose to disclose or withhold this claim when presenting the credential to a Relying Party.
• MAY: The claim MAY be selectively disclosable if the issuer supports it; the holder can choose to disclose or withhold.
• MUST NOT: The claim SHALL NOT be selectively disclosable, it is always present in plain text in the JWT header/payload and cannot be withheld by the holder, as it is required for credential verification and trust establishment.
• iat, exp, and iss follow RFC 7519 standard JWT claim naming conventions.
• The NaturalPersonIdentifier group of attributes is marked as MAY disclosable as a unit , if any attribute within the group is disclosed, all four SHALL be disclosed together.

5.1.2 Status Claim

For SD-JWT VC-compliant Attestations, the attestation MUST include a status claim if the technical validity period is greater than 24 hours. This claim enables Relying Parties to determine if a credential has been revoked via a status list mechanism, as specified in SD-JWT VC.

The status claim SHALL be a JSON object with the following members:

Example:

{
  "status": {
    "type": "status-list",
    "status_list_credential": "https://issuer.example.com/status/authorisedsignatories/2025",
    "status_list_index": 789,
    "status_purpose": "revocation"
  }
}

5.1.3 Example Payload

The following is a non-normative example of an AuthorisedSignatories Attestation SD-JWT VC payload:

{
  "vct": "eu.we-build:authorisedsignatories:1",
  "attestation_legal_category": "EAA",
  "iss": "https://example-gmbh.de",
  "iat": 1746000000,
  "exp": 1777536000,
  "jti": "asr-attestation-20260515-001",
  "legal_entity": {
    "legal_person": {
      "legal_person_name": "Example GmbH",
      "legal_form_type": "GmbH"
    },
    "identifier": {
      "euid": "DE-HRB-123456",
      "lei": "5493001KJTIIGC8Y1R12",
      "tax": "DE123456789"
    }
  },
  "authorised_persons": [
    {
      "natural_person": {
        "first_name": "Maria Anna",
        "surname": "Müller",
        "date_of_birth": "1982-07-14"
      },
      "birth_place": {
        "locality": "Munich",
        "country": "DEU",
        "region": "Bavaria"
      },
      "citizenship": ["DEU"],
      "person_role": {
        "representation_type": "SOLE",
        "role": "CEO"
      },
      "identifier": {
        "document_type": "Passport",
        "document_number": "C01X00T47",
        "issuing_country": "DEU",
        "document_expiry_date": "2031-03-20"
      }
    },
    {
      "natural_person": {
        "first_name": "Jean",
        "surname": "Dupont",
        "date_of_birth": "1975-11-30"
      },
      "birth_place": {
        "locality": "Paris",
        "country": "FRA"
      },
      "citizenship": ["FRA", "BEL"],
      "person_role": {
        "representation_type": "JOINT",
        "role": "CFO"
      }
    }
  ],
  "status": {
    "type": "status-list",
    "status_list_credential": "https://example.com/status/authorisedsignatories-list-1",
    "status_list_index": 789,
    "status_purpose": "revocation"
  },
  "trust_anchor_url": "https://trust.webuildconsortium.eu/anchors/eidas-tl",
  "schema_version": "0.1.0",
  "cnf": {
    "jwk": {
      "kty": "EC",
      "crv": "P-256",
      "x": "abc-123_def-456_ghi-789_jkl-012",
      "y": "mno-345_pqr-678_stu-901_vwx-234"
    }
  }
}

Sample payloads are provided under ../data-schemas/sd-jwt/sample-data/authorised-signatories-sd-jwt-sample.json

5.2 ISO/IEC 18013-5-compliant encoding

ISO/IEC 18013-5 (also called mdoc) is out of scope for this Rulebook, as offline proximity presentation is not a current requirement for the AuthorisedSignatories Attestation.

5.3 W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model-based encoding

This Rulebook does not define a W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model encoding for this attestation type.

6 Protocols

This attestation is issued using OpenID for Verifiable Credential Issuance [OpenID4VCI] and presented using OpenID for Verifiable Presentations [OpenID4VP], both as profiled by [HAIP].

7 Issuance

7.1 Binding

7.2 Issuance Policy

For EAA (Self-Issued / Standard Issuance):

• The issuer (i.e., the legal entity itself) issues the attestation based on the information and supporting documentation available at the time of issuance.
• The issuer is responsible for ensuring that the attested information remains accurate and must immediately revoke the attestation if any change occurs that affects the validity or accuracy of the underlying data.

For QEAA (Qualified Issuance):

• The issuer-either a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) or another authorized competent body-must issue and verify the attestation exclusively on the basis of authoritative sources, such as official company register data or audited financial statements.
• The issuer is also responsible for maintaining a high level of assurance throughout the attestation's validity period by continuously monitoring the underlying information. If any change affecting the accuracy or validity of the attested data is detected, the issuer must promptly revoke the attestation.

The Issuer SHALL implement the base issuer obligation as defined in the Issuer Obligation specification: https://github.com/webuild-consortium/webuild-attestation-rulebooks-catalog/blob/main/rulebooks/rb-base/verifier-base-verification.md#41-issuer-obligations

7.3 Lifecycle management

The issuer sets the validity period of the attestation and reissues it when the underlying facts change, revoking the superseded attestation as described in chapter 8.

7.4 Embedded disclosure policy

This attestation defines no embedded disclosure policy.

8 Revocation

An attestation SHALL remain valid only while its underlying information is accurate, complete, and legally effective.

8.1 Revocation Mechanism

• Token Status List: The issuer must maintain an active IETF Token Status List (aligned with the Attestation Status List mechanism specified by the EU Commission).
• Credential Metadata: The metadata status_list must be populated in every issued CompanyInfo attestation, referencing the status list URI and the credential's specific index.

Authorized Authority: Only the authorized issuer (the QTSP/competent body for QEAA, or the self-issuing legal entity for EAA) may modify the status list entry.

8.2 Revocation Triggers & Business Rules

• QEAA Trigger (Automatic): The QTSP/competent body must actively monitor official company register data and audited financial statements. Any detected discrepancy or change in the company registry must automatically trigger revocation of the QEAA.
• EAA Trigger (Manual Obligation): The self-issuing legal entity is under strict obligation to immediately update or revoke its EAA if its available documents, financial thresholds, or ownership structures change.

Relying Party Action: A revoked or suspended attestation must be treated as invalid for credential-validity purposes by all RPs. The business interpretation is determined by the Relying Party's internal compliance policies.

9 Presentation

Base Verification Process

The Relying Party SHALL perform the base attestation verification process as defined in the Base Verification specification: https://github.com/webuild-consortium/webuild-attestation-rulebooks-catalog/blob/main/rulebooks/rb-base/verifier-base-verification.md#42-relying-party-obligations

9.1 Presentation Policy

To verify and validate a received presentation of an attestation of this type, the following steps SHALL be performed:

1. verify the signature over the attestation using a trust anchor obtained as described in chapter 10;
2. verify that the attestation is within its validity period;
3. check revocation status as described in chapter 8, unless the attestation is short-lived, or its remaining lifetime is below the revocation time threshold;
4. verify device binding where section 7.1 records the attestation as device-bound;
5. request only those attributes that are necessary for the stated purpose of the transaction, and, where the trust model for this attestation requires Relying Party registration, only those attributes it is registered and authorised to request.

Obligations specific to this attestation type, carried over from the previous version of this Rulebook:

When receiving and processing an attestation, the Relying Party SHALL perform the following verification obligations.

9.2 Presentation modes

Remote presentation is in scope. Proximity presentation is in scope only where chapter 5 records an mdoc encoding.

9.3 Transactional data

This Rulebook defines no transactional data.

10 Trust Framework

This chapter specifies the trust anchor mechanisms used by Relying Parties to establish trust in the issuer of an Electronic Attestation of Attributes (EAA) or a Qualified Electronic Attestation of Attributes (QEAA). The corresponding verification procedures are defined in Sections 4.2.2–4.2.4.

10.1 Qualified Electronic Attestations of Attributes (QEAAs)

For QEAAs, trust is established through the X.509 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and the applicable Trust List of Licensees (TLOL). The issuer's certificate chain, including the intermediate certificate contained in the QEAA header, SHALL be validated up to a trusted root certificate. This validation SHALL be performed using the applicable TLOL, taking into account the trust list state applicable at the time of issuance.

Successful certificate chain validation establishes that:

• the issuer's certificate was recognized within the applicable trust framework;
• the issuer's identity has been validated by the supervisory authority during inclusion in the TLOL; and
• the issuer satisfies the trust requirements applicable to QEAAs.

In addition, the Relying Party MAY apply further authorization checks based on its internal policies, such as maintaining a whitelist of accepted QEAA providers.

10.2 Electronic Attestations of Attributes (EAAs)

For EAAs, trust is established through a cryptographic chain anchored in the Electronic Business Wallet Owner Identity Document (EBWOID). The EBWOID SHALL be included in the header of every EAA. During EBWOID issuance, the EBWOID provider verifies that the public key contained in the EBWOID is owned by the Electronic Business Wallet (EBW) owner.

The Relying Party SHALL verify the EBWOID in accordance with the verification procedure defined in this Rulebook. Upon successful verification, the Relying Party obtains:

• assurance that the EBWOID was issued by an authorized provider and is not self-issued;
• the verified identity of the issuer, including its name and EUID (or another globally unique EBW owner identifier); and
• the public key authorized to verify the EAA signature.

Authorization of the issuer is subsequently determined in accordance with the Relying Party's internal policies. Such authorization MAY be based on locally maintained wallet configuration or on trusted jurisdiction- or domain-specific trust list services that identify issuers authorized for a particular type of EAA

Trust anchor location

The attribute or metadata carrying the trust anchor location contains at least the URL at which a machine-readable version can be found or looked up.

11 References