Glossary

What is a QWAC?

Qualified Website Authentication Certificate — an eIDAS-qualified certificate proving website identity in the EU.

Written by the SkyQon engineering team · Last verified 4 August 2026

Why it matters

A QWAC answers the question an ordinary certificate cannot: who is legally behind this website, verified by a supervised party. It is issued by a qualified trust service provider carried on an EU member-state trusted list.

The standard

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2.0), with certificate policy under ETSI EN 319 411-2. Qualified status derives from the provider's current entry on a national trusted list.

Official text: Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on EUR-Lex

How it fails

Qualification is a property of the issuer at a point in time, not a flag inside the certificate — so verifying a QWAC means resolving its issuer against the trusted lists as they stand now. A certificate that looks qualified but whose provider's service entry has been withdrawn, suspended or expired is not qualified, and nothing in the file itself will tell you that.

Related terms

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