Publication
EU Digital COVID Certificate
From Department of Health; Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
- 1. What the EU Digital COVID Certificate is
- 2. How it works
- 3. When you will get your Digital COVID Certificate
- 4. How to store your Digital COVID Certificate
- 5. Travel without this certificate
- 6. Incorrect vaccine interval
- 7. If you don't get your Digital COVID Certificate in the coming weeks
- 8. Online Digital COVID Certificate portal
- 9. People who have been vaccinated or have recovered in another country
- 10. Travelling with children
- 11. How to get a Digital COVID Certificate after a negative COVID-19 test
- 12. Number of EU Digital COVID Certificates issued to date
- 13. Using the Digital COVID Certificate for other purposes
- 14. Update: notice on certificates containing Síneadh Fada
- 15. Update on pharmacy vaccinations
The EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) is proof (in digital or paper format) that you have either:
- been vaccinated against COVID-19 or
- received a negative COVID-19 test result or
- recovered from COVID-19 in the last 6 months
Your free Digital COVID Certificate will help you to travel safely and more easily within the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you are travelling within the EU, check what restrictions are in place in the country you are travelling to on the ReOpen EU website in advance.
If you have been vaccinated or had a COVID-19 test here, you will be issued a Digital COVID Certificate from Ireland. See how you will get your certificate.
If you are travelling outside of the EU, please check the travel restrictions in that country on the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
Before arriving into Ireland, you will need to complete a Passenger Locator Form.
On the form, you will indicate which of the following you are travelling with:
- proof of vaccination
- proof of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 6 months
- proof of negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival
Your Digital COVID Certificate can be used as proof of whichever of the above applies for you.
Your Passenger Locator Form will be checked prior to departure on your journey to Ireland by your carrier and you may be asked to provide the certificate indicated on your form.
At arrival in Ireland, spot checks will be carried out on Digital COVID Certificates, other proof of vaccinations and negative RT-PCR tests as appropriate.
The introduction of these additional checks will cause some disruption to journeys. If you are travelling, you are advised to expect delays and give yourself extra time either side of departure and arrival.
There are 4 types of Digital COVID Certificate:
You can get this certificate if you have been vaccinated against COVID-19. If the HSE has a valid email address for you from the vaccination process – you will get your Digital COVID Certificate by email. Otherwise, you will get your certificate via post.
These Digital COVID Certificates are currently being emailed or posted.
A certificate of recovery will be available from 11 days after a positive test, and will be valid for no more than 180 days after you test positive. Instead of calling the Digital COVID Certificate helpline, you can now fill out an online form to request a certificate of recovery.
You can book a RT-PCR test privately and a Digital COVID Certificate will be provided by the private RT-PCR testing service. Certificates based on a RT-PCR are valid for 72 hours after the test was taken.
You can book an antigen test privately and a Digital COVID Certificate will be provided by the private testing service. Certificates based on negative antigen tests are valid for 48 hours after the test was taken.
NOTE: A Digital COVID Certificate based on an antigen test will not be accepted for entry to Ireland, but is acceptable in a number of other countries – find out more on the ReOpen EU website.
Keep a hard copy of your Digital COVID Certificate – it may be useful to have this with you.
The Digital COVID Certificate will be in PDF format when emailed to you. You may download it to your phone, where the QR code on the PDF may be inspected or scanned.
Your EU Digital COVID Certificate can now be stored on your COVID Tracker app.
You can use the COVID Tracker App as a 'wallet' to store your Digital COVID Certificate securely on your phone. This can make it easier for you to carry your certificate with you.
Simple steps for how to do this:
- update your COVID Tracker app to the latest version
- scan the QR code on the certificate you get by email or in the post
- if you got your certificate by email, it's easiest to open it on another device. You can then use your mobile device to scan it
- the certificate is only stored on your phone. It is not shared with anyone. You can delete it at any time
- you can use the app to store your certificate without using any of the other features in the app
The document is not a precondition for travel but it does make travelling within the EU easier. However, you will still need to adhere to the restrictions in place in the country you are travelling to. You can find detail on these restrictions on the ReOpen EU website.
From 11 August 2021, all travellers into Ireland with an EU Digital COVID Certificate must be fully vaccinated with an EMA-approved vaccine to be considered exempt from:
- mandatory hotel quarantine
- self-quarantine
- having to have a negative RT-PCR test before travelling
To be fully vaccinated you must have waited the correct length of time after the final dose of the EMA-approved vaccine.
The table below sets out what fully vaccinated means.
| A full course of any one of the following vaccines | Regarded as fully vaccinated after: |
| 2 doses of Pfizer-BioNtech Vaccine: BNT162b2 (Comirnaty®) | 7 days |
| 2 doses of Moderna Vaccine: CX-024414 (Moderna®) | 14 days |
| 2 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine: ChAdOx1-SARS-COV-2 (Vaxzevria® or Covishield) | 15 days |
| 1 dose of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen Vaccine: Ad26.COV2-S [recombinant] (Janssen®) | 14 days |
Travellers coming from a designated State who have not got a vaccine from the table above do not meet Ireland’s meaning of fully vaccinated and must pre-book and enter mandatory hotel quarantine.
Travellers arriving from a non-designated state (any country not on this list ), who have not received a vaccine from the table above do not meet Ireland’s meaning of fully vaccinated and must:
- present evidence of a negative result from a RT PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival in the country
- self-quarantine for 14 days
With effect from 11 August, an exemption from mandatory hotel quarantine will be provided for ‘fully vaccinated’ travellers.
To be most effective, a course of vaccine must be given at the correct interval. In the rare event where an interval between vaccines is too short, then it may not produce a sufficient immune response and a third dose of vaccine is recommended. The dose interval for each vaccine has changed on a number of ocasions during the programme so if you have any queries then please contact HSE Live.
In the very unlikely event that a second course was given at an interval less than the recommended time, then a vaccine certificate cannot be issued until a third dose of vaccine is administered. Should this occur, this will be picked up by the system and you will be offered another appointment for the vaccine. If you have any queries you can call HSE Live.
There is no maximum interval between vaccine doses and so there is no need to receive a third dose if there was a long interval between your first and second dose of COVID-19 vaccines.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee has advised that in some circumstances, people who have COVID-19 disease and one dose of COVID-19 vaccine are considered protected from COVID-19.
However, for the purposes of receiving an EU Digital COVID Certificate in Ireland, you will need to receive two doses of COVID-19 vaccine (except the Janssen vaccine).
If you have been vaccinated and have not received your Digital COVID Certificate yet, you can request the certificate online.
A new portal has been opened which allows you to:
- update details on your certificate
- get a certificate re-sent to you
- check the status of your certificate
- request a certificate of recovery
For a two dose vaccine schedule, if you received the first dose abroad and the second dose in Ireland, you may apply for an EU Digital COVID Certificate in Ireland. In this case you will need to contact the service centre and provide evidence of your first vaccine abroad.
If you received your first dose in Ireland and your second dose in another country, then please apply to the country where you received your second dose for a certificate.
If you received your complete vaccine schedule in a third country outside the EU, but are an Irish citizen, a mechanism is being developed to issue an EU Digital COVID Certificate. More details will be added about this in due course.
Children between the ages of 12 and 17 will be required to have a negative RT-PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival to travel into the country, unless they have valid proof of vaccination or recovery.
Children of any age, travelling with accompanying vaccinated or recovered adults will not be required to self-quarantine post arrival. However, where one accompanying adult needs to self-quarantine, then all children must also self-quarantine.
Advice on travelling abroad is available from the Department of Foreign Affairs website.
| Date | Certificates issued | |
| 22 July | 2,221,566 | |
| 23 July | 2,269,999 | |
| 24 July | 2,237,586 | |
| 25 July | 2,345,506 | |
| 26 July | 2,409,126 | |
| 27 July | 2,516,084 | |
| 28 July | 2,594,499 | |
| 29 July | 2,630, 931 | |
| 30 July | 2,685,988 | |
| 31 July | 2,714,653 | |
| 1 Aug | 2,728,001 | |
| 2 Aug | 2,742, 556 | |
| 3 Aug | 2,782,886 | |
| 4 Aug | 2,794, 477 | |
| 5 Aug | 2,848,291 | |
| 6 Aug | 2,887, 836 | |
| 7 Aug | 2,926,375 | |
| 8 Aug | 2,934,564 | |
| 9 Aug | 2,964,368 | |
| 10 Aug | 2,994,365 | |
| 11 Aug | 3,048,763 | |
| 12 Aug | 3,082,924 | |
| 13 Aug | 3,121,938 | |
| 14 Aug | 3,166,520 | |
| 15 Aug | 3,226,013 | |
| 16 Aug | 3,263,354 | |
| 17 Aug | 3,295,186 | |
| 18 Aug | 3,335,863 | |
| 19 Aug | 3,336,763 | |
| 20 Aug | 3,351,660 | |
| 21 Aug | 3,362,798 | |
| 22 Aug | 3,380,952 | |
| 23 Aug | 3,451,845 | |
| 24 Aug | 3,432,172 | |
| 25 Aug | 3,474,971 | |
| 26 Aug | 3,502, 432 | |
| 27 Aug | 3,511, 431 | |
| 28 Aug | 3,557,449 | |
| 29 Aug | 3,511,431 | |
| 30 Aug | 3,530,799 | |
| 31 Aug | 3,540,825 | |
| 1 Sep | 3, 562, 664 | |
| 2 Sep | 3, 578, 469 | |
| 3 Sep | 3, 599, 155 | |
| 4 Sep | 3, 607, 263 | |
| 5 Sep | 3, 624, 968 | |
| 6 Sep | 3, 642, 496 | |
| 7 Sep | 3, 644, 757 |
To access indoor hospitality in Ireland, your HSE Vaccination Card or your DCC is acceptable as proof of vaccination – you will also be asked for Photo ID.
The Digital COVID Certificate is designed to support safe travel within the EU but countries may be using the EU Digital COVID Certificate for other domestic purposes, for example: to allow access to restaurants or cinemas. They will have to set that up in national law, so check before you travel.
We are sorry that many of our residents who received their Digital COVID Certificates through the post were disappointed to find that the síneadh fadas in their name and/or address had been misprinted.
This was unfortunately due to an error in our print preparation process, which has since been resolved.
We have identified people whom we believe were affected by this error and reissued your certificates automatically.
We appreciate that some of you may use the fada in every day correspondence but not on your passport name. If you are concerned about this and would prefer an exact match, a portal facility will be available later this week to facilitate a resolution.
Please do not contact the service desk unless your travel is imminent.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
The Digital COVID Certificate team
We are aware that, for some people who were vaccinated at pharmacies, the date of vaccination might have been shown as the date the record was submitted to the HSE, rather than the actual vaccination date.
We have identified the records affected and issued fresh certificates to the people affected.
We apologise for any inconvenience.
The Digital COVID Certificate team
