Support the roll-out of EU Mobile Driving Licences

1. GRANT PURPOSE AND TARGET

• Core Objective: To provide funding for the roll-out of EU Mobile Driving Licences (mDL) in Member States. The grant supports public and private entities in developing and implementing the necessary technical and organizational frameworks for issuing and verifying mDLs through the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet, which is expected to be available by the end of 2026.

• Funding Organization: European Commission.

• Target Recipients: The call is specifically for:

  • Public authorities mandated by national laws to issue driving licences.
  • Public authorities mandated by national laws to enforce road traffic law.
  • Private bodies that frequently verify driving licences, such as car rental companies.

• Sector Focus: This grant is SECTOR-SPECIFIC, targeting projects in the following areas:

  • Digital Technology and Services (specifically digital identity).
  • Transportation.
  • Public Administration and Law Enforcement.

• Geographic Scope: Applicants must be legal entities established in an EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories) or a listed EEA country or a country associated with the Digital Europe Programme.

• Key Filtering Criteria:

  • Consortium: A consortium of at least 3 independent applicants from 3 different eligible countries is mandatory.
  • Project Focus: Projects must focus on developing 'in-production' services for issuing and verifying mobile driving licences compliant with ISO/IEC 18013-5/7 standards and the EUDI Wallet framework.
  • Project Duration: The expected project duration is 24 months.

4. FINANCIAL STRUCTURE

• Funding Range: The total available budget for this topic is €5,000,000. The call document states there is 'no limit on the requested grant amount,' but the funding body expects to award approximately 3 grants, suggesting a typical award size around €1.67 million. Applicants should propose a budget that is realistic and proportionate to their project's scope.

• Co-financing: This is a 'Simple Grant' with a funding rate of 50%. This means applicants must co-finance the remaining 50% of the eligible project costs from other sources.

• Eligible Costs: The grant covers direct and indirect costs necessary for the project. Key eligible costs include:

  • Personnel costs: Salaries and related costs for staff working on the project.
  • Subcontracting costs: Must be justified and represent a limited part of the action.
  • Purchase costs: Including travel and subsistence (e.g., for a kick-off meeting for up to 2 persons per beneficiary), equipment, and other goods/services.
  • Equipment Costs: Reimbursed on a depreciation basis only for this topic.
  • Indirect Costs: A flat rate of 7% of the total eligible direct costs is automatically applied to cover general overheads like office rent, utilities, etc.

• Ineligible Costs: In addition to standard EU ineligible costs (e.g., debt service charges, VAT that is deductible), the following are explicitly ineligible for this call:

  • Costs for creating and maintaining separate project websites.
  • Providing financial support to third parties (cascading grants).

• Payment & Reporting: The payment structure is designed for simplicity:

  • Prefinancing: A single prefinancing payment of normally 65% of the total grant amount is paid to the coordinator after the grant agreement is signed.
  • Interim Payments: There are no interim payments.
  • Final Payment: The remaining balance is paid at the end of the project, after the final report is submitted and approved.

2. ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• Formal Criteria:

  • Consortium Composition: Proposals must be submitted by a consortium consisting of a minimum of 3 independent applicants (beneficiaries, not affiliated entities) from at least 3 different eligible countries.
  • Legal Status: Applicants must be legally established entities, either public or private bodies. This includes national authorities, law enforcement agencies, and private companies.
  • Location: Applicants must be established in an EU Member State (including overseas countries and territories), a listed EEA country, or a country associated with the Digital Europe Programme.
  • Submission: Applications must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal before the specified deadline, using the provided forms. Part B of the proposal is limited to 70 pages.

• Organizational Status: Open to public bodies (e.g., national ministries, transport authorities) and private sector organizations (e.g., car rental companies). No specific size or age requirements are mentioned; the focus is on the entity's role in the driving licence ecosystem.

• Technical Expertise: Applicants must demonstrate the capacity to develop and deploy production-ready services. Key expertise includes:

  • Knowledge of the European Digital Identity (EUDI) framework and Regulation EU 910/2014.
  • Familiarity with technical standards ISO/IEC 18013-5 and ISO/IEC 18013-7.
  • Ability to leverage the European Commission's reference implementation for wallets, issuers, and verifiers.
  • Capacity to collaborate and test interoperability with other projects funded under the same call.

• Exclusion Criteria:

  • High-Risk Suppliers: Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment, along with any entities they own or control, are explicitly not eligible to participate in any capacity.
  • Financial Support to Third Parties: The grant funds cannot be used to provide financial support to third parties (cascading grants).
  • Standard EU Exclusions: Applicants must not be in situations of bankruptcy, insolvency, breach of tax or social security obligations, grave professional misconduct, fraud, or subject to EU sanctions.

5. APPLICATION PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• Deadlines:

  • Call Opening: 09 October 2025
  • Submission Deadline: 09 December 2025 at 17:00:00 Brussels time (CET)
  • Evaluation Period: January 2026
  • Notification of Results: February 2026
  • Grant Agreement Signature: September 2026

• Required Documents:

  • Application Form Part A: To be completed directly in the online submission system.
  • Application Form Part B: A narrative description of the project, to be completed using the provided template and uploaded as a PDF file (max 70 pages).
  • Annexes: Any other mandatory annexes specified in the submission system.

• Application Process:

  • Proposals must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.
  • All participating organisations must first register and obtain a 9-digit Participant Identification Code (PIC).
  • The consortium coordinator is responsible for submitting the complete application on behalf of all partners.

• Support: The grant provides financial support covering 50% of eligible project costs. Additionally, projects are encouraged to use the reference software implementations (e.g., for issuers and verifiers) provided by the European Commission.

• Post-Award Obligations:

  • Project Duration: Projects are expected to run for 24 months.
  • Reporting: In addition to continuous reporting on deliverables, a final report is required within 60 days of the project's end.
  • Mandatory Deliverables: Projects must produce:
    1. A deliverable on dissemination and exploitation within the first six months.
    2. A roadmap and sustainability strategy towards the end of the project.
  • Record-Keeping: Beneficiaries must keep all records and supporting documents for a period of 5 years after the final payment.

3. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals are evaluated and scored out of 15 points based on three main criteria. A minimum score of 3/5 is required for each criterion, and a total score of at least 10/15 is needed to be considered for funding.

• Scoring Factors:

  1. Relevance (Max score: 5; Min pass score: 3)

  • Objectives & Alignment: How well the project's objectives align with the call's goal of rolling out mobile driving licences.
  • Activities: The clarity, pertinence, and coherence of the proposed activities.
  • Policy Contribution: The project's contribution to long-term EU policy objectives, such as the Digital Decade targets and the European Digital Identity framework.
  • Synergies: Alignment with and use of synergies with other cross-border initiatives, especially the work of the POTENTIAL and Aptitude consortiums.

  Note: The call explicitly states that the following standard 'Relevance' sub-criteria are not applicable for this topic:
  * Reinforcement of the digital technology supply chain.
  * Overcoming financial obstacles like lack of market finance.

  2. Implementation (Max score: 5; Min pass score: 3)

  • Maturity: The maturity of the proposed solution and the project's readiness for implementation.
  • Project Plan: The quality and efficiency of the implementation plan, including a clear breakdown into work packages, defined milestones, and deliverables.
  • Resource Management: The efficient use of resources and the appropriateness of the budget.
  • Consortium Capacity: The technical and operational capacity of the consortium members to carry out the proposed work.

  3. Impact (Max score: 5; Min pass score: 3)

  • Outcomes and Deliverables: The extent to which the project will achieve the expected outcomes, such as enabling users to receive an mDL and enabling authorities and private parties to verify it.
  • KPIs: Proposals are assessed on their ability to meet and report on key performance indicators (KPIs), including:
    • Share of driving licence issuers and competent authorities involved in participating Member States.
    • Number of mobile driving licences issued and verified.
    • Number of private relying parties (e.g., rental companies) integrated.
  • Dissemination: The quality of the dissemination, communication, and exploitation strategy.
  • Societal Benefits: The project's benefits for society and its contribution to competitiveness.

• Cross-cutting Themes: The standard evaluation criterion related to 'environmental sustainability and the European Green Deal goals' is not applicable for this specific topic.

6. COMPLIANCE AND SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Regulatory Compliance: Projects must demonstrate strict adherence to a range of legal and technical frameworks:

  • European Digital Identity Framework: Compliance with Regulation EU 910/2014 and its implementing acts is mandatory.
  • Cybersecurity & Data Protection: Projects must comply with the NIS2 Directive (EU) 2022/2555 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, (EU) 2016/679).
  • Technical Standards: Implementation must conform to ISO/IEC 18013-5 and ISO/IEC 18013-7 specifications for mobile driving licences, as well as any other requirements set for EU mDL.
  • Ethics: All projects must adhere to the highest ethical standards and will undergo an ethics review.

• IP Policy: Standard EU grant rules apply. Beneficiaries retain ownership of the results they generate. The European Union is granted a royalty-free, non-exclusive, irrevocable licence to use project results and deliverables for communication and public policy purposes.

• Unique Aspects:

  • Mandatory Inter-Project Collaboration: A key requirement is that projects must demonstrate the ability to test the issuance and verification of mDLs with other projects funded under this same call, ensuring interoperability.
  • Building on Existing Work: Proposals are strongly encouraged to build upon the work of previous initiatives, such as the 'POTENTIAL' and 'Aptitude' large-scale pilots.
  • Exclusion of Specific Award Criteria: The evaluation will not consider the project's contribution to the EU digital supply chain, its ability to overcome financial obstacles, or its impact on Green Deal goals, which is an unusual exclusion.

• Industry-Specific Rules:

  • Security Restrictions: This call is subject to restrictions designed to protect European digital infrastructure. Entities assessed as high-risk suppliers of mobile network communication equipment, and any entities they own or control, are strictly prohibited from participating.
  • Security Scrutiny: Projects dealing with EU classified information will undergo a security scrutiny process, and specific security obligations may be added to the Grant Agreement.