Forum

The latest questions that are being answered can be found in our Forum.

General Questions

  • Are there are any costs involved? Show answer
    The citizen card on the mobile phone and e-card is completely free. This includes activation as well as use. If you use the citizen card on your mobile, receiving the SMS with the TAN(?) is also free (in country). While out of country, you will be charged the normal roaming charges from your mobile provider.
  • What do I do if my certificate has expired or I have changed cards? Show answer
    The citizen card functionality must be activated every time you get a new card. The activation page explains how to do this for the e-card. For other A-Trust cards (such as debit card, a.sign premium cards), see the A-Trust Products page for more informationen.
    Legally, expired certificates can be renewed using an existing card as long as the card still fulfils the technical requirements and the personal data on the certificate (name, etc.) has not changed in the meantime. In most cases (e-card, debit card) the expiration date is synchronised with the planned exchange of the card so that the new card is due to be activated at the same time.
  • Can I sign/encrypt e-mails using the citizen card? Show answer
    Yes, but only using the e-card G3(?).
    Technical background: The most commonly used e-mail programs (e.g., Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird) do not support encryption with ECDSA(?). Instead, they use RSA(?).
  • Can I activate multiple mobile phones as citizen cards? Show answer
    Yes. You may activate as many mobile phones as desired.
  • Can I be registered with more than one electronic delivery service at the same time? Show answer
    Yes. In this case, the delivery service will be selected at random.
  • What is the minimum age for getting a citizen card? Show answer
    The minimum age is 14 years.
  • Are only Austrian citizens allowed to get a citizen card? Show answer
    No. In order to obtain a citizen card, you must fulfil one of the following requirements:
    • You are registered in the Central Register of Residents (i.e., you are a resident in Austria). For Austrians currently out of country: Your entry in the Central Register of Residents is only deleted after 10 years.
    • All others are able to be registered in the Supplementary Register(?) for Natural Persons . An automated process does not yet exist for this – contact the SourcePIN Register Authority
  • Does the citizen card work with my mobile phone model? Show answer
    Yes. The only requirement is to be able to receive text messages, which every mobile phone is able to do.
  • What do the different security levels in the card reader mean? Show answer
    The higher the security class, the more secure the card reader(?) is:
    Class Feature Security Price (starting from)
    1 no keyboard, no display — approx. € 7
    2 keyboard, but no display PIN cannot be read approx. € 40
    3 keyboard and display Final verification of signed document is possible (not yet supported by the citizen card) approx. € 80

    The keyboard on the card reader makes it impossible e.g., for a virus to record the PIN that is entered. The PIN is not transmitted to the computer at all. An additional display is used for verifying the signed documents. This prevents viruses e.g. from showing anything else other than the document that was actually signed.

  • Can I add multiple e-mail addresses to the same certificate? Show answer
    Currently you cannot add multiple e-mail addresses upon e-card activation.
  • Can I use my own citizen card for my underage children? Show answer
    Yes. As long as you have the legal authority to sign for your children, you may use your own card for them.
  • Are legal persons also allowed to obtain a citizen card? Show answer
    No. However, natural persons (e.g., business owners) can register a mandate for a company on their own citizen card. – see mandates.
  • Can I use my citizen card to sign for someone else (with a mandate)? Show answer
    It is possible to grant a mandate to another person using the Source PIN Register Authority. In this case, the mandate is saved in an Infobox(?) on the citizen card of the representative. This is possible with the mobile phone signature(?), a debit card (Maestro) or the e-card G3(?). (chip cards only with trustDesk(?)). The mandate is currently only accepted by two delivery service providers (MeinBrief.at and the Austrian Federal Computing Centre).
  • Can I use my debit card (Maestro) as a citizen card? Show answer
    Yes, the A-Trust(?) company offers a product for this. However, there are costs involved for this service. Online activation is also not available.
  • Can I activate more than one chip card as a citizen card? Show answer
    Yes. You can e.g., use your e-card, debit card(s) (Maestro) and other accepted chip cards as citizen cards at the same time.

Integrating the Citizen Card

The modules "MOA-ID" and "MOCCA" can be used to integrate the citizen card into your own web applications. They are available for free on the E-Government Open Source Platform. Installation tutorial videos from the Exthex company can be found here.

If you are looking for companies that provide services and expertise on citizen cards, check the list provided by UBIT of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce at www.experts.or.at.

Integrating the mobile phone signature

The mobile phone signature(?) gets called in the same way as a local CCE(?) or the Online CCE(?).

You can find a list of certificates accepted by the mobile phone signature at http://labs.a-trust.at/ShowArtikel.aspx?fileId=106.

Help for Problems

  • Error message: The page http://127.0.0.1/... cannot be displayed. Show answer
    The most likely cause is that the citizen card software(?) has not been started or has not yet been installed. Try using Mocca.
  • Error message: A valid certificate already exists for this mobile phone number. (Error 2005) Show answer
    This message appears when you try to activate a mobile phone that has already been activated. Contact the revocation service at %%glossar(A-Trust', 'A-Trust')%% 24 hours: Telephone: 01 715 20 60
    See also:
  • Error message: No person was found in the Central Register of Residents of the BMI that matches the information saved on your e-card (name, date of birth and gender). Show answer
    Compare how your name is printed on the e-card with your proof of residency certificate (CRR certificates replace the old registration documents since Mar. 1, 2002). If you do not have your proof of residency certificate on hand, you can also use an official piece of identification (passport, driver's license, etc.). In order to activate a citizen card, the names must match exactly. (Only exception: additional names are allowed)
    • Name correction on the e-card: The health insurance provider (social insurance provider) handles this. If you are not sure, you can call the e-card service line: 050 124 33 11
    • Correcting your name in the Central Register of Residents (see proof of residency certificate): The Magistrate Office is responsible for this; in Vienna, it is the Municipal District Office
  • Error message: Your signature has been locked! (citizen card on your mobile phone) Show answer
    If you enter the signature password wrong 10 times in a row, the following message appears: Mobile phone number or password is incorrect. Your signature has been locked!.
    Contact the revocation service at A-Trust(?) 24 hours: Telephone: 01 715 20 60 You will be able to revoke the citizen card functionality on your mobile phone. Afterwards you can activate your mobile phone again.
  • Error message: Citizen card is locked (when the wrong PIN is entered too many times on the e-card) Show answer
    Important: The health insurance functionality on your e-card is not affected and remains valid in any case.
    If either of the PINs(?) are entered wrong 10 times in a row, the citizen card locks itself out from the e-card automatically. (Exception: With e-cards G2(?), the Signatur-PIN(?) is only allowed to be entered wrong 3 times in a row.) The e-card cannot be activated(?) anymore afterwards.
  • I have a new mobile phone number Show answer
    If you change your mobile phone number, you can revoke the respective citizen card:
  • I have a new e-card Show answer
    • If you still have your old e-card, you can activate the new e-card yourself here. Normally, it is possible to do this up to three months after the e-card has expired (see information on back of card). Your old e-card is not revoked automatically, so it can still be used as a valid citizen card (until three months after expiration) .
    • If you do not have your old e-card, activate your new e-card as usual.
  • I have a new change of address Show answer
    You do not need to do anything.
  • My name has changed Show answer
    Revoke your citizen card:
  • My e-mail address has changed Show answer
    Signed e-mails can only be sent from the address registered in your certificate(?). You can see which e-mail address is registered in your certificate here.
    It is not possible to change existing certificates afterwards and enter other e-mail addresses. In order to add e-mail addresses, you must first revoke the citizen card and activate it again. Informationen on revoking your citizen card.
  • I have fogotten my PIN codes for the citizen card on the e-card Show answer
    You should order a new e-card (the old one will be revoked automatically) The health insurance functionality on your e-card is not affected and remains valid in any case.
  • How can I change my signature password for the citizen card functionality on my mobile phone? Show answer
  • I have forgotten my revocation password Show answer
    If you do not remember your revocation password(?) you can still suspend your citizen card: Information on suspending/revoking the citizen card.
    To receive your revocation password again:
  • My mobile phone was lost/stolen Show answer
    You should revoke your citizen card: Information on revoking your citizen card
  • My e-card was lost/stolen/damaged Show answer
    You should order a new e-card (the old one will be revoked automatically) Afterwards, activate your new e-card as usual.
  • How can I change my signature password for the citizen card functionality on my mobile phone? Show answer
    Log in at the mobile phone signature portal https://www.handy-signatur.at/ at "Kontoverwaltung" ("my account"). Change the password using the function "Signaturpasswort ändern" ("change password").
  • How can I change my revocation password? Show answer
    Unfortunately, that is not possible.
  • Which ports do I need to leave open on my firewall? Show answer
    • TCP port 80 (for HTTP)
    • TCP port 443 (for HTTPS)
    • TCP port 389 (for LDAP)
    • TCP ports 3495 and 3496 (for local citizen card software(?) on 127.0.0.1)
  • How can I suspend or revoke my citizen card? Show answer
    Contact the revocation servivce at A-Trust - 24 hours:
    Telephone 01 715 20 60
    Note the difference between suspending and revoking:
    • It is only possible to revoke (permanently deactivate the citizen card) if you know your revocation password(?). If you revoke citizen card functionality on your e-card, it will still remain valid for health insurance purposes. However, the same card cannot be reactivated as a citizen card. You will need a new card in order to do this. (If you revoke the citizen card on your mobile phone, you will still be able to reactivate it using the same mobile phone number.) Instead of calling the revocation service, you can also fax a form:
    • A suspension is used in cases where you have misplaced your mobile phone or card, but expect to find it again. The lock deactivates the citizen card functionality immediately. You have 10 days time to cancel the suspension. After 10 days have passed, the suspension turns automatically into a revocation.
    If you have more than one citizen card (e.g. mobile phone and card or several mobile phones), a suspension or revocation will only affect the respective citizen card. However, both certificates(?) (qualified and non-qualified) will be suspended/revoked on all your citizen cards.

Didn't find the answer?

Service Centre HELP.gv.at: Telephone: 0800 222 666 (M–F 09:00 –17:00)

Test the citizen card on the e-card