EUDIPOAThe digital EU power of attorney, on the record

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The questions people actually search for, answered in plain English first, with the article numbers attached so you can check us. When an answer depends on a date that has not arrived, we say "not yet" — not "soon".

Do I still need an apostille for EU company documents?

For now, yes — whatever formalities national law currently requires still apply. The change: from 31 July 2028, when Member States apply Directive (EU) 2025/25, register-certified company documents, the EU Company Certificate and the digital EU power of attorney are exempt from "all forms of legalisation and any similar formality" — which is what the apostille is [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16d(1)–(2) and Art. 4(2)].

What does my company actually have to do, and by when?

For most limited companies: very little is obliged. The two real duties, once your Member State applies the rules (from 31 July 2028): file any change to your registered documents and information within at most 15 working days [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 15(2)(a) of Dir. (EU) 2017/1132 as replaced], with penalties for late filing behind it [Directive (EU) 2025/25, recital 22] — and keep your register data accurate, because everyone else will now rely on it. Partnerships listed in Annex IIB get a genuinely new compulsory disclosure regime [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 14a]. Everything else is a right, not a duty. The full audience-by-audience timeline: What to do, by when.

How do I prove my company exists in another EU country?

Today: with an extract from your national business register, plus whatever formalities the receiving country demands. From 31 July 2028: with the EU Company Certificate — issued by your register, accepted in all Member States "as sufficient evidence, at the time of its issuance, of the incorporation of the company" and of its key register facts [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16b(1)], free of charge at least once per calendar year [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16b(5)].

Can I authorise someone to set up a company or branch for me in another EU country?

Yes. Today that means a national power of attorney plus the receiving country's formalities. From 31 July 2028, the digital EU power of attorney exists for exactly this: formation of companies, registration or closure of branches, and cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16c(1)]. It must be accepted as evidence of the authorised person's entitlement to represent the company [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16c(2)], apostille-free [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16d(2)]. How the granting works: step by step here.

When can I actually get a digital EU power of attorney?

Not yet. The clocks, from the instrument: Commission template due by 31 July 2026 [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 24(2)(e) insertion]; transposition by 31 July 2027; application from 31 July 2028 [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 4(1)–(2)]. Anything sold as a "digital EU power of attorney" before your Member State applies its transposing law is something else wearing the name.

How much does the EU Company Certificate cost?

Your own company's certificate in electronic form: free at least once per calendar year, in every Member State. Where a price is charged — for extra copies, paper, or third-party requests — it may not exceed the administrative costs [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16b(5)].

Is the digital EU power of attorney mandatory for companies?

No. The instrument says companies "can use" the template [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16c(1)] — the obligations fall on Member States, not companies. National powers of attorney also remain fully valid [Directive (EU) 2025/25, recital 28]. More misconceptions: What it is not.

Does the digital EU power of attorney work for banking, tax or contracts?

No. Its scope is procedures under Directive (EU) 2017/1132 — formation, branches, cross-border conversions, mergers and divisions [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16c(1)]. Authorising someone for banking, tax or contracts stays a national-law matter. The wider machinery for attested authority is coming from another direction — see organisational mandates.

What is the EUDI wallet deadline?

Each Member State must provide at least one wallet within 24 months of the wallet implementing acts entering into force [Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2), Art. 5a(1) of Reg. 910/2014 as inserted]. Those acts entered into force on 24 December 2024 [Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2977] [Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2981], so the deadline is 24 December 2026. The full chain: the wallet mapping.

Do banks and large platforms have to accept the EUDI wallet?

Yes, on a clock. Private relying parties required to use strong user authentication — banking, financial services, telecoms and the other listed sectors, excluding micro and small enterprises — must accept wallets "no later than 36 months" after the wallet implementing acts entered into force, and only at the user's voluntary request [Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2), Art. 5f(2)]. From the verified entry-into-force date of 24 December 2024, that is 24 December 2027. Very large online platforms must also accept wallet authentication [Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2), Art. 5f(3)].

Is the EU Business Wallet law yet?

No. It is a proposal — COM(2025)0838, in the ordinary legislative procedure as 2025/0358(COD), last verified at "Awaiting committee decision" [OEIL 2025/0358(COD) (PROPOSAL)Proposal]. We track it — clearly labelled as a proposal — at the Business Wallet page.

Can another EU country refuse my company's documents or power of attorney?

Only through two narrow safeguards. Doubt about authenticity: a contact-point check with the issuing register, answered within 5 working days; refusal only if the register does not confirm [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16e]. Suspected abuse or fraud: exceptional, case-by-case refusal, justified by public interest, after consulting the issuing register [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16f] — and the recitals warn this must never become systematic [Directive (EU) 2025/25, recital 26].

Who verifies that a digital EU power of attorney is genuine?

Three layers. At granting: courts, notaries or other competent authorities verify the grantor's identity, legal capacity and authority to represent [Directive (EU) 2025/25, Art. 16c(1)]. In transit: eIDAS trust services authenticate the instrument [Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS)]. At reliance: the relying party carries responsibility for authenticating and validating what it is shown [Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2), Art. 5b(9)] — and a signature check alone is not an authority check: valid token ≠ allowed action.

Not answered here?

Ask us — hello@eudipoa.com. Questions that keep arriving get added to this page. We do not give legal advice; we explain what the instruments say.