Spain’s national digital ID going live with full legal status

From April 2, public and private institutions in Spain are required to begin putting in place measures to accept or support the digital version of the country’s national identity card (DNI). The digital ID takes the same legal status as the physical ID card on Thursday.

The acceptance step constitutes the second phase of a nationwide effort to put in place a digital ID system that aims to facilitate secure identity verification, and make access to public services easier.

Among other things, the digital DNI can streamline access to services like voting, banking, in-person age verification, hotel check-ins, car rentals, package collection, and entertainment venues.

As part of this second phase rollout, users of the digital ID will be able to have access to more online services, and there’s also the imminent activation of a digital signature feature to make certain digital transactions and internet-based operations easier, according to the government’s official website.

Users store the digital ID on a mobile application, MiDNI, which was launched in April last year. The objective, authorities explained, is to streamline identity verification and transform how public services are delivered. Only the MiDNI app is legally accepted for the digital ID storage. The app can be unlocked with a password or native device biometrics.

With the digital ID, citizens are not obliged to carry along their physical ID cards for any transactions and it is a system that keeps the power of personal data control fully in the hands of the subject, who can decide what information to share, how, with whom and when to do so.

There are three levels of data-sharing via the app and all of them involve a QR code which can be scanned, but not copied due to time limitations. Also, as part of the security and privacy measures, the mobile application is connected to police servers to enable data verification in real-time.

The government has explained that to get the digital ID app, users first need to register by linking their mobile phone to their DNI using official platforms of the national police that have been made available, after which they can download the app either from Google Play or the App Store.

At the expiry of a physical card, the corresponding digital ID must also be reactivated, officials have advised.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI)  |  miDNI  |  mobile app  |  national ID  |  Spain