Technical error shortens validity of some ID cards by 1 day

ID cards issued during the summer seasons from 2019 to 2022 will have their electronic use reduced by one day than the indicated five-year validity period. Photo: Erik Prozes

ID cards issued during the summer seasons from 2019 to 2022 will have their electronic use reduced by one day than the indicated five-year validity period.

The first batch of these cards will reach their end of validity in March 2024. The Police and Border Guard Board will send timely personal notifications about the issue to the cardholders.

ID cards serve both as an identity verification document and as a tool allowing electronic authentication and digital signature for up to five years. Due to a technical glitch in the communication between the card manufacturer's systems, some of the ID cards, residence permit cards, and digital ID cards issued in earlier years have their certificate validity shortened by one day. This means that on the last day of the document's validity, it can no longer be used for digital authentication and signing. However, as a physical document, the card remains valid until its expiry date.

The first such affected cards will expire in March 2024. The Police and Border Guard Board will send a personal notification to those affected one month before the end of the document's validity so they can take this into account when getting a new document. These notifications will start being sent by Police and Border Guard Board to cardholders from February next year.

"We advise those affected not to leave exchanging the document to the last day and apologize for any inconvenience," Liis Valk, head of the Identity and Status Bureau of the Police and Border Guard Board, said.

"Normally, the Police and Border Guard Board sends all ID card holders a reminder by email to apply for a new card two months before the document expires. For people whose ID card certificates expire one day earlier than expected, we will send an additional notification one month before the document's expiration," Valk added.

The one-day difference in the validity of some ID cards, residence permit cards, and digital ID cards resulted from an error in communication between the card manufacturer's systems. One system accounted for daylight saving time, while the other relied on Estonia's standard time zone. As a result, ID cards issued during summer have certificates that are valid for one day less.

The affected certificates on ID cards, residence permit cards, and digital ID cards are those that were issued from March 31 to Oct. 26, 2019, from March 29 to Oct. 24, 2020, from March 28 to Oct. 30, 2021, and from March 27 to Oct. 29, 2022.

This issue does not affect ID cards issued this year.