How Brazil is expanding access to Qualified Trust Services

By Edmar Araujo, Executive Director at the Brazilian Association for Digital Certification (ANCD)

Brazil is undergoing a significant transformation in its digital trust infrastructure. After more than two decades of consolidating the Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure (ICP-Brasil), the country is moving toward a more accessible, interoperable, and user-centric model while maintaining the high standards of security and legal validity that characterize qualified trust services. 

With over two decades of experience in public key infrastructure, Brazil has established one of the world’s largest digital certification ecosystems. Since the creation of ICP-Brasil in 2001, the country has developed a governance model capable of ensuring legal validity, authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation in electronic transactions carried out by citizens, businesses, and public institutions. 

One of the key developments in this direction is the expansion of the Electronic Registration Authority (e-RA), a model designed for the remote issuance of digital certificates to natural persons. The Electronic Registration Authority aims to expand access to qualified trust services through fully digital processes while maintaining the security requirements established by ICP-Brasil. Under this model, subscriber identity verification is performed using robust mechanisms such as biometric verification, liveness detection, and cross-checking against official and authoritative data sources. Certificates issued under this model are stored in the cloud, enabling their secure use across multiple devices and digital environments. 

Although remote issuance represents a recent step toward democratizing access to digital certification, cloud-based certificates have been part of the Brazilian landscape since 2018. Their adoption has been enabled by Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSPs), which offer solutions that ensure the secure custody of cryptographic keys and support the execution of qualified electronic signatures through mobile devices and cloud-based applications. 

The combination of cloud-based certificates and the Electronic Registration Authority creates the conditions necessary to expand the reach of qualified trust services, reducing operational barriers and bringing digital certification closer to citizens’ daily lives. 

This movement is particularly relevant in a context of increasing digitalization of public and private services, where digital identity, secure authentication, and interoperability are becoming essential elements for building trust in electronic environments. 

Recent developments in Brazil’s trust infrastructure were widely discussed during CertForum ID 2026, one of the country’s longest-running events dedicated to digital certification, electronic signatures, and digital identity. Held annually since 2003, the event brings together representatives from government, industry, academia, and international organizations to discuss the challenges and opportunities associated with digital transformation. 

The 2026 edition reinforced the importance of qualified trust services as essential tools for modernizing public administration, combating fraud, and expanding digital citizenship. 

Discussions covered topics such as remote certificate issuance, cloud signatures, electronic seals, verifiable credentials, artificial intelligence, interoperability, and the impact of emerging technologies on traditional trust models. One of the central themes was the need to balance security, usability, and digital inclusion, ensuring that robust technological solutions are also accessible and intuitive for users. 

The event featured Esther Dweck, Brazil’s Minister of Management and Innovation in Public Services, whose participation reinforced the importance of trust infrastructure to the country’s digital transformation strategy and the expansion of digital public services. 

Another significant development for the Brazilian ecosystem was the establishment of the Digital Partnership between Brazil and the European Union. Although the agreement does not establish specific technical standards for electronic signatures or trust services, it creates a favorable environment for dialogue and cooperation on topics such as digital identity, data governance, interoperability, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. The initiative opens new opportunities for the exchange of experiences among governments, industry associations, and technology providers while strengthening discussions on mechanisms that enable secure cross-border digital interactions. 

As digital ecosystems become increasingly interconnected, building interoperable trust frameworks is becoming a fundamental requirement for economic development and the delivery of cross-border digital services. Brazil’s experience demonstrates that it is possible to expand access to qualified trust services by combining technological innovation, legal certainty, and institutional cooperation. 

More than simply modernizing processes, the current challenge is to build a trust infrastructure capable of supporting the next generation of digital interactions among citizens, businesses, and governments.