The term of validity of your digital ID card is indicated on your card. You can check the validity of the certificates contained in the document chip (for authentication and signature purposes) using the ID software. Usually, the term of validity of certificates matches the term of validity indicated on the document, but there can be situations where the physical document remains valid, while its certificates have been suspended or revoked.
e-resident’s digital ID-s have a period of validity of five years.
- Three months prior to the expiration of your current e-Residency card, the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board will send you a reminder about the expiring document. This notification will be sent to an email address, which you have submitted when you applied for e-Residency for the first time.
- It is advised to submit an application for a new document at least 2-3 months prior to the expiration of your current document. In order to maintain access to e-services, you will need to collect your new card before your current document expires.
Before applying for a new document, please make sure that your Estonian company has met all the obligations: annual reports have been submitted, corporate taxes have been declared (if your company is a tax resident in Estonia), company data in the Business Register is up to date and the company does not have any tax debts. Your application for a new document might be rejected if any of these obligations have not been satisfied.
Since March 2024, e-residents with a valid digital ID or Smart-ID can log into the application environment and renew their digital ID in a more streamlined way. Once logged in, some information in the renewal form will be pre-filled according to your original application. If any of the pre-filled information is incorrect, you can still modify it during the application process.
If you cannot use your existing digital ID for a renewal, and don’t have an active SmartID account, you will need to create a new account in the application environment using your email and proceed with the renewal process in the regular way. The application process will be similar to your previous application.
The state fee to renew is the same as submitting a new application. You can read more about this here.
Renewal process FAQ
You need to apply for a new document. Please select “Expiry of document” as the application type.
From March 2024, e-residents with a valid digital ID or SmartID can log into the application environment and renew their digital ID in a more streamlined way. Once you are logged in, you'll notice that some information in the renewal form is pre-filled according to your original application. This should shorten the time it takes for you to fill out the form, and thus lower the burden of renewal for e-residents.
If you cannot use your existing digital ID for a renewal, and you don’t have an active SmartID account, you will need to create a new account in the application environment using your email and proceed with the renewal process in the regular way. The application process will thus be the same as if you are a first time applicant.
Yes. If your data such as name or citizenship changes, you will need to apply for a new e-Residency digital ID. This will require you to pay the state fee again.
If you know your name will change in the near future we would advise to wait and apply once you have received a new identification document that displays your new name.
Please read the How to apply article. We have also answered the majority of the frequently asked questions there.