Trusted List
A Trusted List is the authoritative register a verifier consults to decide whether an issuer is trusted: each EU member state publishes one, naming the qualified trust service providers and issuers it authorises to operate under its trust framework.
A verifier checks a credential’s issuer against the relevant Trusted List instead of maintaining its own list of who to trust, so the same check works no matter which member state issued the credential. Trusted Lists are what makes a trust framework operational rather than only a legal description: eIDAS 2.0 requires every member state to maintain one, and the ARF names it as a normative building block of the EUDI Wallet ecosystem alongside the PID and the wallet’s own trust anchors. Each list entry ties a trust service provider or issuer to the public key it uses to sign attestations, so a verifier can confirm both that the issuer is authorised and that a specific credential’s signature actually belongs to it. The lists are published in a machine-readable format and updated by the member state whenever a provider’s status changes, is added, suspended, or withdrawn, so a revocation takes effect for every relying party checking that list rather than requiring each one to be notified separately. A shared technical format defines how all member states publish their lists, which is what lets a wallet or verifier in one country parse another country’s Trusted List without bespoke integration work. Without this shared format, cross-border recognition of credentials under eIDAS 2.0 would require bilateral agreements between every pair of member states instead of one consistent mechanism.
Related terms
Who decides what goes on a Trusted List?
Each EU member state’s designated supervisory body maintains its own Trusted List and decides which qualified trust service providers and issuers appear on it, based on eIDAS 2.0 requirements. It adds a provider once it has been certified, and removes or suspends one if its status changes, so the list always reflects who that member state currently authorises.