eParaksts — national electronic signature + Mobile ID

eParaksts is the Latvian national qualified electronic signature ecosystem, operated by LVRTC (Latvijas Valsts radio un televīzijas centrs — the national broadcaster, which also acts as a qualified trust service provider). Three channels coexist: smart card (eID), eParaksts mobile (SIM-based) and regional Smart-ID (Baltic consortium). All are qualified at eIDAS LoA High and accepted to sign an eRēķins.

History — from the 2002 ID card to eParaksts mobile

Latvia legislated as early as 2002 with the Elektroniskā paraksta likums (Electronic Signature Act). In 2008, LVRTC launched eParaksts v1 on the new personas apliecība ID card issued by PMLP. Five years later, eParaksts mobile arrived — a strong signal: the country moved straight from card to SIM without lingering on the USB token format that still slows Estonia. eParaksts mobile now accounts for most signatures issued.

2002       | Electronic Signature Act — Latvijas Republikas Elektroniskā
           | paraksta likums (published in Latvijas Vēstnesis).
           |
2008       | eParaksts v1 — first qualified signature on smart card
           | (eID / personas apliecība issued by PMLP). LVRTC certified.
           |
2013       | eParaksts mobile — SIM-based extension, signature derived
           | from telco SIM certificates (LMT, Tele2, Bite).
           |
2014       | eIDAS Regulation 910/2014 — notification of the Latvian
           | scheme (LVRTC root CA on the EU Trust List).
           |
2016-2018  | Regional Smart-ID rollout (LV + EE + LT) by SK ID Solutions.
           | Coexists with eParaksts.
           |
2020       | eParaksts crosses 1M+ active users (out of 1.8M inhabitants).
           |
2022       | LVRTC publishes the "eParaksts 2.0" roadmap — alignment with
           | the EUDI Wallet (European Digital Identity Wallet 2024-2026).
           |
2024       | Interoperability tested with EUDI Wallet pilots (NOBID
           | consortium — Norway, Iceland, Latvia, Germany, Italy).
           |
2025-2026  | Convergence with eRēķins B2B — qualified electronic signature
           | integrated into the invoice issuing workflow.

Governance — LVRTC + PMLP + Tilde

Roles are strictly split. PMLP (Pilsonības un migrācijas lietu pārvalde) issues the physical chip ID card. LVRTC (Latvijas Valsts radio un televīzijas centrs) operates the trust root (eParakstsCA root CA), the timestamp authority and the eparaksts.lv signature portal. Tilde (a Latvian private company) has historically provided the eParakstītājs client software and the mobile integration.

Smart-ID is operated by SK ID Solutions (Estonian entity) as a qualified provider recognised across the three Baltic markets. It is a popular alternative but not the Latvian national root — a digital sovereignty trade-off.

Technical schema — XAdES, PAdES, CAdES

eParaksts issues signatures aligned with ETSI XAdES (XML), PAdES (PDF) and CAdES (CMS) profiles. The standard level is B-LT (Basic + Long-Term, with timestamp), with migration to LTA (Long-Term Archival) for 10-year archives.

• Root OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.31532.1.1 (eParakstsCA).
• Algorithm: RSA-SHA256 standard, ECDSA P-256 transition in progress.
• Timestamping: RFC 3161 via LVRTC TSA.
• Validation: CRL + OCSP, distribution points on eparaksts.lv.
• Level: qualified per eIDAS Art. 25 — legally equivalent to a handwritten signature.

<ds:Signature xmlns:ds="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#" Id="Sig-eParaksts-001">
  <ds:SignedInfo>
    <ds:CanonicalizationMethod Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/2001/10/xml-exc-c14n#"/>
    <ds:SignatureMethod Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmldsig-more#rsa-sha256"/>
    <ds:Reference URI="">
      <ds:Transforms>
        <ds:Transform Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/2000/09/xmldsig#enveloped-signature"/>
      </ds:Transforms>
      <ds:DigestMethod Algorithm="http://www.w3.org/2001/04/xmlenc#sha256"/>
      <ds:DigestValue>...</ds:DigestValue>
    </ds:Reference>
  </ds:SignedInfo>
  <ds:SignatureValue>...</ds:SignatureValue>
  <ds:KeyInfo>
    <ds:X509Data>
      <ds:X509Certificate>
        <!-- Certificate issued by LVRTC eParakstsCA, OID 1.3.6.1.4.1.31532.1.1 -->
      </ds:X509Certificate>
    </ds:X509Data>
  </ds:KeyInfo>
  <xades:QualifyingProperties xmlns:xades="http://uri.etsi.org/01903/v1.3.2#"
                              Target="#Sig-eParaksts-001">
    <xades:SignedProperties>
      <xades:SignedSignatureProperties>
        <xades:SigningTime>2026-06-15T14:32:18Z</xades:SigningTime>
        <xades:SignerRole>
          <xades:ClaimedRoles>
            <xades:ClaimedRole>SIA Rīgas Inženierija — Chief Accountant</xades:ClaimedRole>
          </xades:ClaimedRoles>
        </xades:SignerRole>
      </xades:SignedSignatureProperties>
    </xades:SignedProperties>
  </xades:QualifyingProperties>
</ds:Signature>

Comparison — Latvia vs Estonia / Lithuania

Adoption — signer density

• 1.2M+ active users per LVRTC figures (2024) out of ~1.8M inhabitants — about 67% of the population.
• ~60M signatures issued per year, ~70% via eParaksts mobile (SIM or app) and ~30% via smart card.
• Top use cases: bank login (Swedbank, SEB, Citadele), tax filing on EDS (VID), eAdrese (Latvijas Pasts), commercial contract signing, B2G eRēķins signing.
• Growth: +8% per year since 2020 per CSP — accelerating ahead of the 2026 B2B eRēķins mandate.

Common pitfalls

• Assuming Smart-ID = eParaksts. Both are qualified eIDAS but carried by different roots (LVRTC vs SK ID Solutions). Some Latvian State platforms accept only the LVRTC root.
• Forgetting the timestamp. A B-level signature without LT timestamp is not long-term valid. For a 10-year archived eRēķins, require LT minimum, LTA recommended.
• Wrong format profile. Signing a PDF with XAdES (instead of PAdES) produces a technically valid signature that is detached from the document — many PDF viewers will not display it.
• Expired card. The personas apliecība expires every 5 or 10 years. The signing certificate expires with it. Renew the card at PMLP before expiry to avoid interruption.
• Confusing eParakstītājs and eParaksts portāls. eParakstītājs = local desktop client (offline). eParaksts portāls = LVRTC web service (online, signing via SIM or Smart-ID). The workflows differ.

Cross-links

• Latvia hub — full view
• eRēķins B2G 2025
• Uzņēmumu reģistrs — commercial register
• VID — EDS + filings
• eparaksts.lv — LVRTC portal
• LVRTC — root operator
• PMLP — ID card issuance
• Smart-ID — regional Baltic alternative