Digital vaccination proof

The EU Digital COVID Certificate makes it easier to travel within Europe since all of the 27 EU member states recognise it as proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative COVID-19 test result.

Page contents

Questions & Answers
Accessibility Declaration
Privacy notice
Contact (legal information)

The Regulation on the EU Digital COVID Certificate entered into force on 1 July 2021. Since then, all citizens living in the EU can be issued a certificate to present as needed. This certificate can be stored on a mobile device or printed on paper. A QR code on the certificate holds key information and a digital signature that verifies the authenticity of the certificate.

WHO

End of the Coronavirus Emergency

On 5 May 2023, WHO lifted the global coronavirus public health emergency, citing higher levels of immunity as a result of past coronavirus infection and vaccination. As a result, the Regulation on the EU Digital COVID Certificate due to expire on 30 June 2023 was not extended.

In Germany, the CovPass app can still be used for the time being.

Questions & Answers

Current

The technical validity of the digital COVID certificates expires automatically after 365 days. If this is the case for you soon, you will receive a notification in the CovPass app 28 days before expiry.

In order to continue to prove your vaccination status, the certificate of your last vaccination as well as your recovery certificate must be renewed. You can reissue the certificates yourself in the app with just a few clicks. To do this, follow the instructions in the overview of your certificates under "Manage certificates".
- Only certificates relevant for your vaccination status can be renewed, such as booster vac-cinations or recovery certificates.
- The certificate is still valid for more than 28 days.
- The certificate has already expired more than 90 days ago. In this case, reissuance is no longer possible within the app. Please contact a pharmacy to obtain a new certificate.
- The number of reissues is limited to three per certificate. This includes renewals you have made for the same certificate on other cell phones or previously in the Corona-Warn-App (error code R429).
- Only certificates issued in Germany can be renewed via the CovPass app.
- Your app is not up to date. Please update it in the App Store.
Anyone who had been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and could prove this with a posi-tive PCR test result was entitled to a certificate of recovery up until March 30, 2023. The PCR test could not be older than 90 days. The certificate of recovery is valid in Germany from the 28th day after the PCR test and for a period of 90 days after the PCR test.

Digital recovery certificates can not be issued anymore since March 30, 2023.

If you have not received a vaccination before recovery, you will need two vaccinations to be considered basic immunized again.
Validity in Germany

The certificate for a booster vaccination is valid indefinitely. After 365 days, the so-called technical validity expires within the CovPass app. The certificate can be renewed with a few clicks.

Cross-border travel to the EU

In deviation from the IfSG regulations applicable in Germany, the following must be observed when traveling to other EU member states:
The EU Commission has established an EU-wide recognition period of at least 270 days for the EU digital vaccination certificate after completion of basic immunization (i.e., after two vaccination doses). This regulation has been applied since February 1, 2022. The certificate for a booster vaccination is valid indefinitely. For under 18-year-olds, the vaccination certificate on completion of basic immunization is also val-id indefinitely.
The EU COVID Digital Certificates for vaccination or recovery can be used in EU countries and in many other non-EU countries.

Show the certificate with the QR code in the CovPass app or in paper form. The yellow vaccination certificate is also still valid as proof.

From May 2023 the CovPass app can't check entry rules to other countries anymore.

Information on the corona measures and travel restrictions applicable in each European country can be found, among other places, at www.reopen.europa.eu/de. Updating is the responsibility of the respective countries.
As of October 1, 2022, in Germany, according to Section 22a (1) of the Infection Protection Act (IfSG), proof of three events is required to be considered fully vaccinated. Of these, at least two events must be vaccinations (3 vaccinations or 2 vaccinations and 1 infection). To show this, a person must have undergone one of the following scenarios:
- Three vaccinations, with the last vaccination administered at least three months after the second vaccination.
- Two vaccinations and a subsequent infection, where the infection has been detected by a PCR test, and 28 days have passed since testing.
- One vaccination and one infection detected by a PCR test and one subsequent vaccination.
- One infection detected by a PCR test followed by two vaccinations.
- One positive antibody test followed by two vaccinations.
When you delete the CovPass app, all of your stored data is also removed.

If you want to remove individual certificates from the app, tap on the QR code on the start screen and go to the overview of your certificates via the button "Manage certificates". Select the desired certificates and delete them by tapping on the trash can icon (top right).
The status "fully vaccinated" in the CovPass app is based on the Infection Protection Act (IfSG). The requirements for complete vaccination protection in the IfSG do not differentiate according to age. They therefore also apply to children under 12 years of age.

The recommendations of the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) deviate from the IfSG (Epidemiologisches Bulletin 08/2023).

CovPass-App

With the CovPass app, you can provide secure, digital proof of COVID vaccinations or recovery from a COVID infection as needed.

The EU Digital COVID Certificate contains a QR code. Scan the QR code in the CovPass-App. The EU Digital COVID Certificate is then stored in the app. A QR code can be generated as proof of every single COVID vaccine dose administered. The QR codes are displayed in the app directly after being scanned.

When the QR code is checked with the official CovPassCheck app, only the information required for verification is displayed: the status of the certificate, and the certificate holder’s full name and date of birth. Simply present the QR code in the CovPass app.

Using the CovPass app is voluntary.
No. You can decide for yourself whether you want to use the CovPass app. Using it is voluntary. The aim of the CovPass app is to verify EU Digital COVID Certificates quickly and securely. You can delete the app at any time. If you delete the app, all of the information saved on the app is removed from your smartphone. Alternatively, you can prove your COVID immunity with the printed vaccination certificate or the yellow vaccination record.
As of February 2022, certain certificates that provide evidence of a second vaccination will EU-wide no longer be issued with the number 2/2, but with the number 2/1. This concerns the following cases:
- Second vaccination after a first vaccination with Johnson & Johnson.
- Second vaccination after a recovery and a first vaccination (booster)
If you receive a corresponding message in your CovPass app asking you to renew your certificate, one of the above cases applies to you. Your deposited certificate does not comply with the current EU requirements for numbering certificates and should therefore be adjusted using the reissue function in the app. This is important so that your booster vaccination is recognized by the CovPassCheck app during examinations.

After the successful renewal, both the old certificate (2/2) and the new certificate (2/1) are stored. You no longer need the old certificate and it can be deleted.
The CovPass app can only scan certificates (QR codes) that meet European specifications. These certificates are titled "EU Digital COVID Certificate". They are issued by vaccination centres, doctors’ practices, health departments and pharmacies. Other QR codes that are issued in connection with COVID-19 vaccinations (e.g. invitation codes for a vaccination appointment, proof of vaccina-tion that does not meet European certificate specifications) are not designed for the CovPass app and are not recognised by the app.
- Make sure that you have presented the QR code on the vaccination certificate entitled "EU Digital COVID Certificate". You can get this certificate in vaccination centres, doctors’ practices. health departments or pharmacies.
- Make sure that your smartphone can scan the QR code properly. Move the phone back and forth and change the distance from the camera to the QR code. It often helps to increase the distance.
- Stay in a bright environment or turn on the flashlight function in the app.
- Make sure the sheet is flat on the table and has no bulge or crease on the QR code.
- Make sure that the app is up to date (update it in the app store if necessary and then restart it).
- Check your operating system: the CovPass app is supported by iOS version 12.0 and later and Android version 6.0 and later.
- Have you already scanned a certificate before and then deleted it again? In that case, please delete the app and reinstall it. Now scanning the code should work again.
- Make sure you are using the CovPass app and NOT the CovPassCheck app.
All important COVID immunity information is stored in the CovPass app for a vaccination certifi-cate: the certificate holder’s full name and date of birth, the disease targeted (COVID), vaccine, product, manufacturer, dose number, date of vaccination, country and issuer of the technical cer-tificate and the unique ID number of the certificate (UVCI).

All important test information is stored for a test certificate: the certificate holder’s full name and date of birth, the disease targeted (being tested for), type of test, product name, test manufacturer, date and time of test sample collection, the result of the test, testing centre or facility, country of testing, certificate issuer and certificate ID.

All important recovery information is stored for a recovery certificate: the certificate holder’s full name and date of birth, the disease from which the holder has recovered, date of the holder’s first positive test result, country of testing, certificate issuer, validity and certificate ID.

The QR code contains the same data as the EU Digital COVID Certificate. When the QR code is checked with the CovPassCheck app, however, only the status of the certificate and the certificate holder’s full name and date of birth are displayed.
When the EU Digital COVID Certificates are created, your data is collected once by the issuing body (vaccination centre, doctor’s practice, pharmacy) and transmitted to the RKI for signing. The data is then deleted immediately. When you add the EU Digital COVID Certificate to the app, your personal data is only managed locally on your smartphone. Deleting the application will remove all your saved data in the CovPass app.
The EU Digital COVID Certificates can only be issued by authorised persons. The certificates are secured against manipulation and falsification by means of a cryptographic signature. An ID document must also be presented when the EU Digital COVID Certificate is being verified.

All of your data stored in the CovPass app is completely removed when the application is deleted.
If the smartphone is lost or changed, the EU Digital COVID Certificate must be uploaded to the app again. To do this, download the CovPass-App on your new smartphone and scan the certificate again.

Alternatively, you can prove your immunity with printed records or the yellow vaccination record.

Individuals without a smartphone can prove their COVID immunity with the printed EU Digital COVID Certificate or the yellow vaccination record. The EU Digital COVID Certificates for recovery and COVID testing can also be presented as printouts.

CovPassCheck-App

The CovPassCheck app is for individuals who wish to verify the validity of an EU Digital COVID Certificate in the legally defined situations, digitally and in compliance with data protection regulations.

To do so, the person whose COVID status is being checked presents the QR code in the CovPass app or the printed EU Digital COVID Certificate. The checking person scans the QR code with the CovPassCheck app and immediately sees if the person being verified holds a valid certificate for COVID vaccination, recovery from COVID infection or a negative COVID test result.

Only the status of the certificate, the certificate holder’s full name and date of birth are visible. The CovPassCheck app processes the QR code only in the smartphone's memory and does not store any data.

An ID document is also required for comparison against the certificate data.

Technical details

No data is stored centrally concerning the Digital Vaccination Record. To create the EU Digital COVID Certificate in the vaccination centres, doctors’ practices and pharmacies, the minimum required data is collected and encoded, such as the certificate holder’s full name and date of birth, the vaccine, date of vaccination and vaccine dose. Additional information such as the disease targeted, product, manufacturer, country, overall number of doses and issuer of the technical certificate are automatically added by the vaccination certificate service. The data is then deleted immediately.
We believe that the success of the solution depends directly on the acceptance and trust of the individuals using it.

The selected open source approach allows for the entire source code for the app and infrastructure to be accessed freely and without restrictions. In doing so, we hope to offer the transparency needed to cultivate a solid foundation of trust. The open source approach also allows the public and the developer community to actively contribute to the success of the solution, in the form of reviews and pull requests, for example.
We consider GitHub to be a very well established and appropriately respected platform for open source projects. GitHub is the world’s largest open source platform with over 40 million registered users and more than 100 million repositories, of which >30 million are publicly accessible.

Take part on GitHub: www.github.com/digitaler-impfnachweis/

Anyone who does not wish to create a GitHub account can still view the code without an account.

Accessibility Declaration

This accessibility statement applies to the current CovPass app and the CovPassCheck app of the Robert Koch Institute and Federal Ministry of Health.

The Robert Koch Institute and Federal Ministry of Health are working to make the CovPass app and the CovPassCheck app accessible in accordance with the Disability Equality Act (BGG) and the Barrier-Free Information Technology Ordinance (BITV 2.0). As part of an internal test, it was determined that the CovPass app and the CovPassCheck app are not currently designed to be completely barrier-free. As soon as the revision is completed, the accessibility of the CovPass app and the CovPassCheck app will be tested by the independent BITV test association and the test result will then be published here.

Status of compatibility with the requirements

The CovPass app and the CovPassCheck app are partially incompatible with BGG and BITV 2.0 due to the following exceptions.

Non-accessible content of the CovPass app (Android)

The content listed below is not accessible due to incompatibility with BGG and BITV 2.0. We are working on removing this as soon as possible:

On the "View Certificates" page there is articulated content, no elements for headings are used to mark up the headings.
In some cases, the structural elements for the lists are not properly used, for example, on the page "View certificates".
The orientation of the device in landscape mode is supported, but does not work optimally on all device types.
Keyboard focus order is not coherent and understandable in some cases. In several places, visually hidden elements get keyboard focus.
Keyboard focus is not clearly highlighted/recognizable for some interactive elements such as but-tons and links.
Some functions triggered on the down event of a pointer (e.g. finger or stylus) cannot be cancelled or rolled back.
Some words and sections in other languages on the "Open Source Licenses" page are not consistently labeled as such.
Not all components are implemented to have semantic information (name, role, properties).

Non-accessible content of the CovPass app (iOS)

The content listed below is not accessible due to incompatibility with BGG and BITV 2.0. We are working on removing this as soon as possible:

Some graphical controls do not have meaningful alternative text.
Some information-oriented graphics do not have appropriate alternative texts.
In the help section, some layout graphics are output by the screen reader.
The labelling of many headings in the help area is not mapped in a hierarchical manner.
There are structured contents, no elements for headings are used for the labelling of the headings.
Not all lists in the help area are marked up with the structural elements intended for lists.
Only orientation of the device in portrait mode is supported.
In some cases, the screen content (text) cannot be enlarged to 200% using the system functions.
Some contents and functions in the help area are not accessible and operable with the keyboard.
The keyboard focus order is not coherent and comprehensible in some cases. In several places, vi-sually hidden elements get keyboard focus.
Keyboard focus is not clearly highlighted/recognizable for some interactive elements such as but-tons and links.
Functions triggered on the down event of a pointer (e. g. finger or stylus) cannot be cancelled or rolled back.
Some foreign language words and sections in the help section are not consistently labeled as such.
Not all components (including accordion elements in the help section) are implemented in such a way that the semantic information (name, role, properties) is available.
User-defined settings of the operating system (e .g. "Bold text") are not fully supported.
Documentation (Frequently Asked Questions page) does not meet all accessibility criteria.

Non-accessible content of the CovPassCheck app (An-droid)

The content listed below is not accessible due to incompatibility with BGG and BITV 2.0. We are working on removing this as soon as possible:

There are blank headings on the scan results pages, i. e. headings without names.
On the "View certificates" page, there is articulated content, no elements for headings are used to mark up the headings.
On the "Privacy Policy" page, lists are not marked up with the structural elements for lists provided for this purpose.
Only orientation of the device in portrait mode is supported.
Keyboard focus order is not coherent and understandable in some cases. In several places visually hidden elements get keyboard focus.
Keyboard focus is not clearly highlighted/recognizable for some interactive elements such as but-tons and links.
Some functions triggered on the down event of a pointer (e. g. finger or stylus) cannot be cancelled or rolled back.
Some words and sections in other languages on the "Open Source Licenses" page are not consistently labeled as such.
Not all components are implemented to have semantic information (name, role, properties).

Non-accessible content of the CovPassCheck app (iOS)

The content listed below is not accessible due to incompatibility with BGG and BITV 2.0. We are working on removing this as soon as possible:

Some graphical controls do not have meaningful alternative text.
The labelling of many headings in the help area is not mapped in a hierarchically comprehensible way.
There are structured contents, for the labelling of the headings no elements for headings are used.
Not all lists in the help area are marked up with the structural elements intended for lists.
Only orientation of the device in portrait format is supported.
Sometimes the required contrast ratio of texts compared to their background is not sufficient.
In the help area, the screen content (text) cannot be enlarged to 200% in some cases using the system functions.
Some content and functions are not accessible and operable with the keyboard.
The keyboard focus order is not coherent and comprehensible in some cases - hidden elements get the keyboard focus.
Keyboard focus is not clearly highlighted/recognizable for some interactive elements such as but-tons and links.
Some words and sections in other languages on the "Open Source Licenses" page are not consistently labeled as such.
Not all components (including accordion elements in the help section) are implemented in such a way that the semantic information (name, role, properties) is present.
User-defined settings of the operating system (e. g. "Bold text") are not fully supported.
Documentation (Frequently Asked Questions page) does not meet all accessibility criteria.

Feedback and contact details

Have you noticed any deficiencies in the accessibility of content in the CovPass app or the CovPassCheck app? If so, please feel free to contact us.

Robert Koch Institute
impfnachweis(at)rki.de

Conciliation procedure

The Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities has a conciliation body pursuant to Section 16 BGG.

The conciliation board is responsible for resolving conflicts between people with disabilities and federal public agencies. You can call in the conciliation board if you are not satisfied with the answers from the contact option above. The goal is to find a solution to a problem together and out of court with the help of the conciliation board.

The conciliation procedure is free of charge. You do not need legal assistance.

You can find all the information about the conciliation procedure on the conciliation board's website There you can find information on how a conciliation procedure works and how to submit the request for conciliation. You can also submit the application in plain language or in German sign language.

You can reach the conciliation board at the following address:

Conciliation Board under the Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Act at the Federal Govern-ment Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities.

Mauerstrasse 53
10117 Berlin
Telephone: +49 (0)30 185 272 805
Fax: +49 (0)30 185 272 901
E-Mail: info(at)schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de
Internet: www.schlichtungsstelle-bgg.de

Privacy notice

CovPass app privacy notice

Last amended: 30 June 2023, app version 1.43.1

This privacy notice explains how your data is processed and what data protection rights you have when using the CovPass app to manage certain certificates – digital COVID Certificates proving coronavirus vaccinations, negative coronavirus test results, or that you have recovered from a confirmed case of coronavirus.

Please also note the data protection information that you receive when your digital COVID Certificate is issued (for example at a vaccination/testing centre, doctor’s surgery or pharmacy).

The digital COVID Certificate is proof that a person has
- been vaccinated against COVID-19 (vaccination certificate),
- tested negative for COVID-19 (test certificate) or
- recovered from a COVID-19 infection (certificate of recovery).
A certificate can be obtained on request from a competent entity (vaccination centres, testing points, doctor’s surgeries or pharmacies) after a vaccination, a test or after recovering from a confirmed case of COVID-19.

You can carry the certificate in paper form or in electronic form on your smartphone. Each certificate contains a QR code with an electronic signature from the RKI to protect against forgeries. If you would like to store a certificate on your smartphone, you can simply scan the QR code with the CovPass app. The app then securely stores an electronic version of the certificate on your smartphone.

Please note that the QR codes on the certificates contain health data (data about coronavirus vaccinations, coronavirus test results or your recovery from a confirmed case of coronavirus). You should only show the certificates and QR codes if you want to provide appropriate proof. Do not provide QR codes to anyone if you do not want the data to be read. To prevent unwanted access to the certificates stored on your smartphone, you should set up a code lock on the device.
Yes, using the app is voluntary. Each certificate can also be used in paper form as proof of vaccination, a test result or recovery. You will not suffer any disadvantages, because the paper version and the electronic version of the certificate are equivalent. You can decide at any time whether you want to scan the QR code and store the certificate in the app. You can also delete the certificate from the app at any time.
a. Certificate creation

The RKI briefly processes the necessary personal data of certificate holders to technically create and sign the requested certificate (Sect. 22a (5)–(7) of the Infection Protection Act, IfSG). The personal data is deleted at the RKI immediately once the technical creation of the certificate is complete. There is no centrally administered registry of vaccinations or certificates.

b. Using certificates as proof

You can use the CovPass app to scan your own printed certificates and those of family members and store them in encrypted form on your smartphone.

In order to prove to third parties – in the situations where this is required by law – that you have been vaccinated, have tested negative, or have recovered from COVID-19, you can show the relevant certificate to the person performing the check. If the person performing the check uses a special verification app (such as the RKI’s CovPassCheck app), it is sufficient to show the QR code of the certificate and have it scanned. The QR code is the certificate in digital form and contains only the information necessary for the specific type of certificate (see Section 5).

The verification app allows for example authorities to scan the QR code of certificates presented to them, in order to verify whether the certificates are valid and prove a complete vaccination protection. During the verification, the data contained in the certificate is read. For the certificate to be valid, it must meet the following technical and formal criteria:
- The certificate contains a valid electronic signature.
- The certificate has not been revoked.
- The technical expiration date of the certificate has not yet been reached.
- The certificate meets the formal criteria applicable at the place where it is verified (for example regional entry rules).
The verification app will show whether the certificate provided is valid or, if applicable whether another certificate needs to be scanned. If the certificate is valid, the name and date of birth of the certificate holder will also be disclosed, as will whether or not it is a test certificate. In the case of test certificates, the time of sampling will also be displayed.

The name and date of birth of the certificate holder are displayed so that the person performing the check can compare this information with an ID document (for example passport or ID card). A notification of whether the certificate is a test certificate, and the time of sampling, are necessary to enable the person performing the check to assess whether the test result on which the certificate is based is still valid.

c. Electronic signature of certificates and revocation

To protect against forged certificates, it is necessary to verify the authenticity of the stored certificates. The electronic signature contained in a certificate’s QR code is used for this purpose. The electronic signature is generated by the RKI when creating the certificate, on the basis of the data contained in the certificate (see Section 5). The signature is a special type of encryption that allows the RKI to confirm that the certificate is an official digital document created by the RKI. The RKI also provides the corresponding public keys from the RKI. These public keys can be used to check whether a certificate’s electronic signature actually originates from the RKI and whether the certificate has been manipulated since being signed electronically.

To protect the health of certificate holders and the public, certain certificates may be revoked in special cases. This may be necessary, for example, if a competent entity (for example pharmacy, vaccination centre or doctor’s surgery) has issued an incorrect certificate. The competent hazard prevention authorities will decide on whether to revoke a certificate, and the revocation is then technically implemented by the RKI (Sect. 22a(8) IfSG). Revocation will result in the certificate becoming invalid and no longer being accepted when verified. It does not matter whether the certificate is presented in electronic form on a smartphone or on paper during the verification. If you have stored a revoked certificate in the app, it will show as "invalid".

To be able to determine the validity of the electronic signature or whether stored certificates have been revoked, the app regularly downloads the RKI’s current public keys and revocation lists in the background and stores them locally on your smartphone. The public keys do not contain any personal data. The revocation lists only contain a revocation identifier for a revoked certificate in the form of special one-way encryption (what’s known as a hash value). The revocation identifier cannot be used to infer the certificate data or other information about a particular person. The RKI receives the revocation identifier of a certificate to be revoked from the competent hazard prevention authority, which has read this identifier from the incorrect certificate. If, in exceptional cases, it is necessary to revoke all certificates issued by the same competent entity (for example a specific pharmacy), only a small subsection from the unique certificate identifier of the issued certificates will be transferred to the revocation list instead of the individual revocation identifiers. This subsection is identical for all certificates issued by the same competent entity. The CovPass app then compares this with the unique certificate identifier of the certificates stored on the smartphone. If there is a match between the identifier of the stored certificates and the certificates on the revocation list, the certificate in question will show as "invalid" in the CovPass app. Both the verification of the electronic signature and the comparison with the revocation lists take place exclusively locally in the app and no data about this process is passed on to the RKI or other agencies.

d. Reminder feature

The app can remind you to check stored vaccination certificates if you received your last vaccination a long time ago. To do this, the app downloads the current rules on booster vaccination recommendations from the app’s server system at regular intervals. The app then uses the data contained in the certificates to check whether a booster vaccination is recommended soon. This check also takes place exclusively offline in the app and no data about the vaccination is passed on to the RKI.

e. Export feature (Create PDF)

You have the option of exporting a certificate stored in the CovPass app, in order to print it out and use the paper version (for example when travelling for extended periods) or scan the certificate afterwards with a new smartphone and store it again as an electronic version in the CovPass app (for example if you get a new smartphone). The "Create PDF" feature uses the data of the certificate stored in the CovPass app in order to create a PDF file. This processing is performed only locally on your smartphone. You then have the option of storing this PDF file. The PDF document contains sensitive health data (data about coronavirus vaccinations, test results or recovery from confirmed cases of coronavirus). Therefore, please keep the stored or printed certificate safe and do not publish or share the document.

f. Verifications of certificates for ticket bookings

When you book a ticket with a travel or event company or other provider, you can use the app to submit a digital COVID certificate to the provider’s verification partner so that it can verify the validity of the certificate for your booking with the travel or event company.

To do this, you will need to have added a digital COVID certificate in the CovPass app. The app will ask the provider for the booking information to be used for verification and suggest a suitable certificate based on this information. You can then select this and send it to the verification partner together with the booking information made available by the provider (See Section 5 c.).

The verification partner will check whether the certificate’s electronic signature is genuine and that the technical expiration date has not passed. The verification partner will immediately inform the provider of the result of this verification. The only information communicated will be whether the verification was successful or not. You will also be shown the result of the verification in the CovPass app.

The booking information made available by the provider is only processed locally in the CovPass app. This means the RKI cannot tell which certificates you have selected and had verified or which trips or events you have booked.

The RKI is not responsible for the data processing performed by the provider and the verification partner. Please read their privacy notices so that you know what your data is used for and how it is used.

g. Update feature

It may happen that the app offers you to update a valid certificate.

The app uses the data contained in the certificates to check whether it is possible to update a certificate via the app. If this is the case, you will then be advised of a possible update. For the update, with your consent, the certificate required for the update will be transmitted from the app to the app’s server system in encrypted form. If the certificate to be updated is a vaccination certificate proving a booster vaccination, then the certificates proving the basic immunisation or recovery prior to the booster vaccination will also be transmitted to the app’s server system in the process. The validity of the transmitted certificates will then be checked there (see Section 4 c.). A new version of the certificate for the booster vaccination will be generated using the data from the transmitted certificates. During the update, the contents of the transmitted certificates will be processed for a short time. The updated certificate will then be sent back to your app.

In order to be able to prevent users from using the update feature several times, which is not permitted, the signatures of the updated and new certificates are temporarily stored by means of special one-way encryption (what are known as hash values). The hash values cannot be used to infer the certificate data or other information about you. The hash values will be deleted again 365 days after the update.
a. Certificate data

The certificates contain health data and are stored in a secure area on your smartphone. The certificates contain the following data:
- Data about the certificate holder (last name, first name, date of birth),
- type of certificate (vaccination certificate, test certificate, certificate of recovery),
- the necessary information about the vaccination, the test or the recovery,
- a unique certificate identifier,
- the RKI’s electronic signature and
- a QR code containing the aforementioned data in encoded form.
You can find out what specific information is stored in a certificate from the information provided on the certificate (in German and English). No information other than that indicated on the certificate is stored.

This data will be stored in the app as soon as you scan the QR code on the printed certificate. This data was collected previously by the entity that issued the certificate, and transmitted to the RKI so that the certificate could be signed.

When a certificate is updated, the hash values of the signatures of the updated and new certificates are temporarily stored on the app’s server system by means of special one-way encryption (see Section 4 e.).

b. Access data

In order to download the RKI’s public key for authenticating the electronic signature, the current revocation lists and the rules on booster vaccination recommendations, a connection needs to be established to an RKI server. The server has to process technical access data for this purpose. This data includes the following:
- IP address
- Date and time of retrieval
- Transmitted data volume (or packet length)
- Notification of whether the data exchange was a success.
This access data is processed to enable and secure the connection and data exchange between the app and the server. You will not be identified personally as a user of the app and no user profile will be created. Your IP address will not be stored beyond the end of the individual usage procedure.

c. Booking information

If you make a booking via the internet with a travel or event company or other provider, you can use the CovPass app to prove to the provider that you have a valid digital COVID certificate (verification of certificates for ticket bookings). To do this, you will need to have added a digital COVID certificate in the CovPass app. In addition, the provider must be connected to a verification service.

To check the certificate, you will require a special QR code which you will receive from the provider as part of the booking process. This QR code contains a unique transaction ID, a short description of the booking (for example "booking number 1234") and an internet address (URL).

The CovPass app uses this information to retrieve technical specifications from the provider as well as the following booking information for consideration when verifying the COVID certificate:
- Your name
- Your date of birth
- Information about the date of the required validity of the COVID certificate (date of travel or date of event)
- For travel: Country of origin and country of destination
- Proof requirements, that is in particular the types of certificate suitable for proof, for example vaccination certificate (in the case of cross-border travel, also the requirements of the destination country)
- For certain bookings, information on the type of event is also shared (for example concert or major event).
The provider decides which specific information will be used to verify the COVID certificate, and which COVID certificates are permitted as proof.
The RKI processes the certificate data mentioned above in Section 5 a. for the purpose of technically creating and signing the requested certificate. The legal basis for the processing in each case is Art. 6(1) Sentence 1(c), Art. 9(2)(g) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in conjunction with
- Sect. 22a(5) IfSG (vaccination certificate),
- Sect. 22a(6) IfSG (certificate of recovery) or
- Sect. 22a(7) IfSG (test certificate).
According to Sect. 22a(5)–(7) IfSG, the RKI is obliged to technically create and sign the requested certificate, provided that the vaccinated, recovered or tested person requests the issuance of such a certificate.

The processing of data in connection with the feature for verifying COVID certificates for ticket bookings is based on your consent. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) lit. a, Art. 9 (2) lit. a DSGVO.

The legal basis for the processing of the access data mentioned above in Section 5 b. is Sect. 3 of the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and Art. 6(1) Sentence 1(e) GDPR.

When updating certificates (see Section 4 e.), the data of the certificates that have been submitted for updating is processed on the basis of your consent. The legal basis is Art. 6(1) Sentence 1(a), Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR. Temporary storage of the hash values of the signatures of the updated and new certificates is carried out on the basis of Sect. 22(1)(c) BDSG and Art. 9(2)(i) GDPR.

The legal basis for data processing in connection with certificate revocations is Sect. 22a(8) IfSG.
The CovPass app requires access to your smartphone camera when you scan the QR code to add a certificate in the app. The app also requires an internet connection in order to download up-to-date information from the RKI’s server system (for example the latest key information, revocation lists). For information about other permissions the app may request, please refer to the FAQ section in the app.
The certificates will only be stored in the app on your smartphone. The certificates are not automatically deleted in your app. If you wish to delete a certificate, you can remove a certificate from the app yourself at any time or delete the app. To add the certificate again later, you will need to rescan the QR code of the printed certificate.

The booking information required for the verification of certificates for ticket bookings will be deleted after the verification.

When a certificate has been created, the data is permanently deleted at the RKI immediately after the signed certificate has been provided to the issuing entity.

In the case of updating a certificate, the data will be deleted again at the RKI after the updated certificate has been sent to your app. Only the hash values of the signatures of the updated and new certificates will be stored on the RKI’s server system for 365 days.

The revocation identifiers of revoked certificates on the revocation lists are stored on the app’s server system until the technical expiration date of the respective certificates.
The RKI has commissioned the company KDO Service GmbH (KDO) to operate and maintain the server system. KDO processes the personal data on behalf and at the instruction of the RKI (meaning it is what’s known as a processor under data protection law). Contractual safeguards are in place to ensure that the data protection requirements are met.

If, in the situations where it is required by law, you present a certificate to other persons or entities, they will become aware of all the data contained in the certificate.

You can prevent this by showing the QR code in the app, so that it can be scanned using a verification app. Then, the data contained in the QR code will be read. Here the verification app will only show whether the certificate shown is valid, an explanation of the result, and if applicable whether another certificate needs to be scanned. In the case of a valid certificate, the name and date of birth of the certificate holder are displayed additionally in the verification app, so that the person performing the check can compare this information with an ID document (for example passport or ID card). In addition, it is displayed whether the certificate is a test certificate or not. In the case of test certificates, the time of sampling is then also displayed so that the person performing the check can assess whether the underlying test result is still valid.

The verification app will only process the displayed data for a short time. Once the verification is complete, the displayed data is discarded, meaning the data that has been read is not permanently stored.

During certificate verification for ticket bookings, your COVID certificates and booking information are transmitted to a verification partner used by the provider. The specific verification partner is displayed in the CovPass app before transmitting the information. To retrieve the individual booking information, the CovPass app transmits to the provider the booking identifier contained in the provider’s booking QR code.
If the RKI processes your personal data, you have the following data protection rights:
- The rights under Art. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21 GDPR,
- the right to contact the official RKI Data Protection Officer and raise your concerns (Art. 38(4) GDPR) and
- the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. To do so, you can for example contact your local supervisory authority or the authority responsible for the RKI. The supervisory authority responsible for the RKI is the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Graurheindorfer Straße 153, 53117 Bonn.
Please note that the RKI can only fulfil the rights mentioned above if data to which the asserted claims relate is processed on an ongoing basis. This would only be possible if personal data were stored after being transmitted to the RKI server. This is not generally necessary for the purposes of the app. For this reason, the aforementioned data protection rights under Art. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21 GDPR are largely redundant. If the hash values of the signatures are temporarily stored when a certificate is updated, this does not enable the RKI to determine the identity of certificate holders (see Section 4 e.).

CovPassCheck app privacy notice

Last amended: 30 June 2023, app version 1.43.1

This privacy notice explains how your data is processed and what data protection rights you have when you use the CovPassCheck app to verify digital COVID Certificates.

The app allows you to verify whether other people’s certificates are valid and prove a complete vaccination protection.

To do this, you can use the CovPassCheck app to scan the QR code displayed on a certificate presented to you, in order to ascertain whether that certificate is valid. The QR code contains an electronic signature of the national issuer (in Germany, the issuer is the RKI). The electronic signature is generated by the RKI when creating the certificate, on the basis of the data about the certificate holder which is contained in the certificate. The signature is a special type of encryption that allows the RKI to confirm that the certificate is an official digital document created by the RKI.

The RKI also provides the corresponding public keys and revocation lists. The public keys and revocation lists can be used to check whether a certificate’s electronic signature actually originates from the RKI and whether the certificate has been revoked or manipulated since being signed electronically.

The CovPassCheck app regularly downloads the RKI’s public keys and revocation lists in the background and stores them locally on your smartphone. This allows the app to regularly check the validity of the electronic signature and thus the authenticity of certificates that are checked. The public keys do not contain any personal data. The revocation lists only contain a revocation identifier for a revoked certificate in the form of special one-way encryption (what’s known as a hash value). The revocation identifier cannot be used to infer the certificate data or other information about a particular person.

In order to be able to detect date manipulations in certificates, the date and time set in the smartphone is compared with the real-time information of a freely available time server.

Please note that you are only authorised to have someone else present their certificate for verification to the extent permitted by law.

If you scan a certificate and read data in the process, you are responsible for compliance with data protection regulations.
In order to download the public keys for authenticating the electronic signature and revocation lists, a connection regularly needs to be established to an RKI server. The server has to process technical access data for this purpose. This data includes the following:
- IP address
- Date and time of retrieval
- Transmitted data volume (or packet length)
- Notification of whether the data exchange was a success.
This access data is processed to enable and secure the connection and data exchange between the app and the server. You will not be identified personally as a user of the CovPassCheck app and no user profile will be created. Your IP address will not be stored beyond the end of the individual usage procedure.

Access data is also processed to compare the date and time with the time server.
The RKI will only process your data if it has a legal basis for doing so. The processing of your access data as described in this privacy notice is necessary to technically implement the verification of the validity of the certificates. The legal basis for the processing of your access data is Sect. 3 of the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) and Art. 6(1) Sentence 1(e) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The CovPassCheck app requires access to your smartphone camera when you scan the QR code to verify a certificate. The app also requires an internet connection in order to download the latest key information and updates according to section 4 from the RKI server system. For information about other permissions the app may request, please refer to the FAQ section in the app.
The RKI has commissioned the company KDO Service GmbH (KDO) to operate and maintain the server system. KDO processes the personal data on behalf and at the instruction of the RKI (meaning it is what’s known as a processor under data protection law). Contractual safeguards are in place to ensure that the data protection requirements are met.

To ensure the correct time setting, the current time is obtained from a freely available, randomly selected time server from the NTP Pool project (region de.pool.ntp.org). Here access data is temporarily processed.
If the RKI processes your personal data, you have the following data protection rights:
- The rights under Art. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21 GDPR,
- the right to contact the official RKI Data Protection Officer and raise your concerns (Art. 38(4) GDPR) and
- the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. To do so, you can for example contact your local supervisory authority or the authority responsible for the RKI. The supervisory authority responsible for the RKI is the Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Graurheindorfer Straße 153, 53117 Bonn.
Please note that the RKI can only fulfil the rights mentioned above if data to which the asserted claims relate is processed on an ongoing basis. This would only be possible if personal data were stored after being transmitted to the RKI server. This is not necessary for the purposes of the app. For this reason, the aforementioned data protection rights under Art. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21 GDPR are largely redundant.

Contact (legal information)

Publisher
(responsible according to § 5 para. 1 TMG, § 18 para. 1 MStV, DSGVO, BDSG)

Robert Koch-Institut
Nordufer 20
13353 Berlin
represented by the President

Contact
E-Mail: info(at)covpass-app.de

or use the contact-form of the Robert Koch-Institut (German)

VAT identification number
DE 165 893 430