Your Maltese ID card signs: where its qualified signature counts – and how to use it from your phone
Every Maltese eID card of a holder aged 18 or over carries a qualified certificate for electronic signatures. A signature made with it is a qualified electronic signature (QES) – legally equal to your handwritten signature in Malta and in every EU Member State. This article shows where Maltese authorities accept it, which documents it is used for, and how to sign with your card directly on an Android phone, without a card reader.
Your ID card is a signature card
Identità issues the Maltese eID with two certificates: one for logging in to online services and – for holders aged 18 or over – one for qualified electronic signatures. You set your own 6–8 digit signature PIN when you change the transport PIN. Maltese residence cards with a signature certificate work the same way.
Under the EU eIDAS Regulation (Art. 25(2)) a qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. A QES created in Malta is recognised as qualified in all other EU Member States.
Where the qualified signature is accepted in Malta
Malta Business Registry (MBR). The Registry accepts electronically signed documents under the Companies Act – and only with a qualified electronic signature; scanned signatures and other e-signatures are refused. In the online filing portal you choose Sign via External Certificate: download the PDF with its signature page, sign it with your qualified certificate and upload it again – for example when filing annual accounts. Documents sent outside the portal go to esigning@mbr.mt with a declaration and a validation report.
Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). Since its circular of 15 November 2022 the MFSA accepts electronically signed documents when they carry a qualified electronic signature under eIDAS. The signer is responsible for a valid signature; the MFSA may check it.
Malta Tax and Customs Administration (MTCA). Since 21 August 2023 taxpayer documents that need a wet-ink signature – and are not already an online service – may be submitted in soft copy with a qualified electronic signature and a validation report. Documents that need the Commissioner's own signature are excluded.
Business contracts. Under the Electronic Commerce Act (Cap. 426) contracts are not denied legal effect because they are electronic, and a QES has the effect of a handwritten signature – for engagement letters, employment and service contracts, board resolutions or NDAs. Some acts still need a specific form: a transfer of immovable property, for example, requires a public deed before a notary. Ask your advocate or notary when in doubt.
Across the EU. The same signature is accepted as qualified in every EU Member State – useful for cross-border contracts and filings.
Use case: annual accounts signed from the phone
Example scenario. A corporate services provider in Sliema prepares the annual accounts of a client company for filing with the MBR. The portal produces the PDF with the signature page. The director is abroad this week.
The provider sends the PDF with Ask others to sign in CodeB Wallet and places a signature box on the signature page. The director opens the request on her Android phone, checks the document, holds her Maltese eID to the back of the phone and enters her signature PIN. The signed PDF – qualified signature with a trusted timestamp – comes back to the provider, who uploads it to the portal. No courier, no scanner, no card reader.
What CodeB Wallet does
Your phone is the card reader. Instead of a USB reader and desktop software, CodeB Wallet reads your Maltese eID over NFC: enter the 6-digit card access number (CAN) printed on the card, hold the card to the phone, enter your signature PIN. The card creates the signature; the key never leaves the chip.
Any PDF, a qualified signature. PAdES signature with a trusted timestamp; place your visible signature where it belongs, for example on the MBR signature page. After signing, the app shows that the certificate states a qualified electronic signature.
Confidential. When you sign on the phone with your card, the document never leaves the phone – only a fingerprint (hash) is sent for the timestamp.
Signing requests. Collect the signatures of several directors or parties one after the other, each with their own card, with a signature box per person.
Before you submit: the MBR and the MTCA ask for a validation report. Upload the signed PDF to the European Commission's DSS validation tool and attach its report. CodeB Wallet itself is not certified; the qualified status comes from the certificate on your card.
How to start
- Request access: send us the e-mail address of the Google account you use in the Play Store on your Android phone – via Join. We unlock the address.
- Install CodeB Wallet from Google Play.
- Share a PDF to CodeB Wallet, choose Sign it myself, enter your card access number (CAN), hold your Maltese eID to the phone and enter your signature PIN.
Sources
MBR notice (2020) · MBR notice (2021) · MFSA circular (2022) · MTCA notice (2023) · Identità QES guide · GVZH: e-signatures in Malta (2025) · EU DSS validation tool
Questions about the Maltese eID signature
Is the signature of the Maltese ID card a qualified electronic signature?
Yes. The Maltese eID of a holder aged 18 or over carries a qualified certificate for electronic signatures. A signature made with it is a qualified electronic signature under eIDAS, with the same legal effect as a handwritten signature.
Does the Malta Business Registry accept documents signed with the eID?
Yes. The MBR accepts electronically signed documents only with a qualified electronic signature. In its portal you can sign with an external qualified certificate – download the PDF with the signature page, sign it and upload it.
Does the MFSA accept qualified electronic signatures?
Yes. Since its circular of 15 November 2022 the MFSA accepts electronically signed documents that carry a qualified electronic signature under eIDAS.
Can I send signed documents to the tax administration?
Since 21 August 2023 the MTCA accepts taxpayer documents that need a wet-ink signature in soft copy with a qualified electronic signature and a validation report, except documents that need the Commissioner's signature.
Can I sign with my Maltese eID on my phone?
Yes, with CodeB Wallet on an Android phone with NFC: enter the card access number, hold the card to the phone and enter your signature PIN. No card reader and no computer are needed.
Which documents cannot simply be signed electronically?
Some acts need a specific form – for example, transfers of immovable property require a public deed before a notary. For contracts in general, a qualified electronic signature has the effect of a handwritten one. Ask your advocate or notary when in doubt.
How do I prove the signature is valid?
Upload the signed PDF to the European Commission's DSS validation tool; its report shows the signature and certificate details. The MBR and the MTCA ask for this report.