National identity cards are identity documents issued to citizens of European Union and European Economic Area (EEA) member states, with the exception of Denmark and Ireland (the latter, however, issues a passport card). A new common identity card model harmonized the various formats in use from 2 August 2021 and older ID cards are currently being phased out according to Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1208.
As of 2021, there are approximately two hundred million national identity cards in use in the EU/EEA. They are compulsory in fifteen countries, voluntary in eleven countries and in five countries they are semi-compulsory (possession of some ID is required).
Citizens holding a national identity card, which states citizenship of an EEA member state or Switzerland, can use it as an identity document within their home country, and as a travel document to exercise the right of free movement in the EEA and Switzerland. However, identity cards that do not state citizenship of an EEA member state or Switzerland, including residence permits or residence cards issued to non-citizens, are not valid as travel documents within the EEA and Switzerland.
Use Travel document
As an alternative to presenting a passport, EEA and Swiss citizens are entitled to use a valid national identity card as a stand-alone travel document to exercise their right of free movement in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. National identity card ownership in most EU countries and Switzerland is much more widespread than passport ownership.
When travelling within the Nordic Passport Union, no identity documentation is legally required by Nordic citizens. When travelling within the Common Travel Area (UK and Ireland), other valid identity documentation (such as a driving licence) is often sufficient for Irish and British citizens.
As of 2024, Denmark is the only state that does not issue identity cards that are valid as travel documents in the EEA member states and Switzerland.Travel documents for EU nationals, europa.eu. Retrieved 30 October 2015. Strictly speaking, it is not necessary for an EEA or Swiss citizen to possess a valid national identity card or passport to enter the EEA and Switzerland. In theory, if an EEA or Swiss citizen can prove their nationality by any other means (e.g. by presenting an expired national identity card or passport, or a citizenship certificate), they must be permitted to enter the EEA and Switzerland. An EEA or Swiss citizen who is unable to demonstrate their nationality satisfactorily must, nonetheless, be given 'every reasonable opportunity' to obtain the necessary documents or to have them delivered within a reasonable period of time.Practical Handbook for Border Guards, Part II, section I, point 2.9 (C (2019) 7131)Judgment of the European Court of Justice of 17 February 2005, Case C 215/03, Salah Oulane vs. Minister voor Vreemdelingenzaken en Integratie
Additionally, EEA and Swiss citizens can enter the following countries and territories outside the EEA and Switzerland on the basis of their national identity cards alone, without the need to present a passport to the border authorities:
French overseas territories (excluding Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
Turkey allows citizens of Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Switzerland using a national identity card for short-term visits.
Similarly, Egypt allows citizens of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Portugal to enter using a national identity card for short-term visits.
Anguilla, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Guernsey and Jersey allow citizens of France to enter using a national ID card, as well as Mauritius (only French citizens residing in Réunion) and Canada (only residing in Saint Pierre and Miquelon)
The Gambia allows citizens of Belgium to enter using a national ID card.
Greenland allows citizens of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden to use any identification document containing a photo.
Morocco allows EU citizens to enter with a national ID card on certain guided day trips by ferry from Spain to Tangier, offered by ferry operator Balearia and various Spanish tour operators.
The United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies allow EU, EEA and Swiss citizens to use national identity cards for entry if they have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement, which applies generally to EU/EFTA citizens residing in the UK before Brexit. Under the Brexit withdrawal agreement, the United Kingdom has an option to cease accepting identity cards that do not comply with ICAO biometric specifications after 31 December 2025, but has not currently done so.
According to their local laws, Swedish and Finnish citizens cannot leave their country directly for a non-EU/EFTA country with only their ID cards.Passlag (1978:302) (See 5§) (Swedish)
Additional checks for some citizens At the external border crossing points of the Schengen Area, if a traveller presents a travel document without a machine readable zone and the border guard has 'doubt about his/her identity', the traveller may be requested to undergo a more in-depth 'second line' check. This problem should be resolved, because this kind of document is forbidden for all European Union citizens from 3 August 2026 onwards.
With effect from 7 April 2017, it is mandatory for border guards in the Schengen Area to check on a systematic basis the travel documents of all EEA and Swiss citizens crossing external borders against relevant databases. Until 7 April 2017, border guards in the Schengen Area were only obliged to perform a 'rapid' and 'straightforward' visual check for signs of falsification and tampering, and were not obliged to use technical devices – such as document scanners, UV light and magnifiers – when EEA and Swiss citizens presented their passports or national identity cards at external border checkpoints. They were not legally obliged to check the passports/national identity cards of EEA and Swiss citizens against a database of lost/stolen/invalidated travel documents (and, if they did so, they could only perform a 'rapid' and 'straightforward' database check, and could only check to see if the traveller was on a database containing persons of interest on a strictly 'non-systematic' basis where such a threat was 'genuine', 'present' and 'sufficiently serious').
According to statistics published by Frontex, in 2015 the top 6 EU member states whose national identity cards were falsified and detected at external border crossing points of the Schengen Area were Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece, France and Romania.See Risk Analysis for 2016 (table of statistics of fraudulent document detected, by main countries of issuance, 2015 on p. 24) by Frontex These countries remained the top 6 in 2016.See Risk Analysis for 2017 (table of statistics of fraudulent document detected, by main countries of issuance, 2016 on p. 22) by Frontex
Identification document
Usage in own country There are varying rules on domestic usage of identity documents. Some countries demand the usage of the national identity card or a passport. Other countries allow usage of other documents like driver's licences.
In eleven countries, national identity cards are fully voluntary and not needed by everyone, as identity documents like driving licences are accepted domestically. In some of these countries, e.g. Austria, Finland, Sweden and Iceland, only a minority have a national identity card, since a majority use a passport or driving licence for identification purposes and do not need more identity documents. Similarly, the same happens also in Ireland where the Passport Card is voluntary. On the contrary, in other countries like France or Italy, the national identity card is very widespread, even if any state-issued document is equally accepted.
However, even in those EEA countries that impose a national identity card requirement on their citizens, it is generally not required to carry the identity cards at all times.
Usage outside own country EEA and Swiss citizens exercising their right of free movement in another EEA member state or Switzerland are entitled to use their national identity card as an identification document when dealing not just with government authorities, but also with private sector service providers. For example, where a supermarket in the Netherlands refuses to accept a German national identity card as proof of age when a German citizen attempts to purchase an age-restricted product and insists on the production of a Dutch-issued passport or driving licence or other identity document, the supermarket would, in effect, be discriminating against this individual on this basis of their nationality in the provision of a service, thereby contravening the prohibition in Art 20(2) of Directive 2006/123/EC of discriminatory treatment relating to the nationality of a service recipient in the conditions of access to a service which are made available to the public at large by a service provider. In those EEA countries whose citizens are required by law to obtain a national identity card, only a minority have a passport, since it is not needed for travelling across much of Europe.
Usage in third countries National identity cards are often accepted in other parts of the world for unofficial identification purposes (such as age verification in commercial establishments that serve or sell alcohol, or checking in at hotels) and sometimes for official purposes such as proof of identity and nationality to authorities (especially machine-readable cards).
Electronic identity cards (eID) As of 2024, all EU/EEA countries (except Denmark) issue national identity cards with contact and/or contactless (NFC) smart card functionality. The regulation dictates that the eID functions must be logically or physically separate from the ICAO biometric function of the card.
Digital signature applications can be used which enables the bearer to authenticate themselves digitally using their identity card. Consequently, they can authenticate documents to satisfy any third party that the document's not been altered after being digitally signed, as well as to identify the identity card holder. This application uses a registered certificate in conjunction with public/private key pairs so these enhanced cards do not necessarily have to participate in online transactions. This can be achieved by using a smartcard reader paired with a computer (for contact and contactless cards), or via the NFC interface present in many smartphones (for contactless cards).
A growing number of EU countries have introduced dedicated mobile apps, linked to state registries, that replace physical identity cards. In 2024, the EU passed regulations aimed at standardising electronic identities also through mobile wallets.
Common design and security features European Union standards from 2006 On 4 December 2006, all European Union member states agreed to adopt common designs and minimum security standards for national identity cards that were in the draft resolution of 15 November 2006: This included laminated paper core cards and cards made of a synthetic substrate. The standard specified minimum biographical information (including doc. no., validity, signature), machine readability and ICAO conformity.
EU Regulations from April 2017 revising the Schengen Borders Code, introduced systematic checks of travel documents of EU, EEA and Swiss citizens against relevant databases when entering and leaving the Schengen Area, and states that all member states should phase out national identity cards which are not machine-readable.
New European Union standards