From Department of Health; Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media; Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
This checker tool can be used to check the validity of an EU Digital COVID Certificate.
Hold the QR code on the Digital COVID Certificate in front of the scanner like in the image above. You can see an image of a QR code below.
If the certificate was sent by email, it can be loaded onto the COVID Tracker app - then just hold it in front of the scanner.
If you want to check a paper copy of your certificate, place the certificate in front of your device. Open the checker and scan the QR code on the certificate.
Your phone or tablet will not use the flash when scanning a QR code, so bright lighting is important. Turn on more lights or open the window shades and try scanning the code again.
Patterns on a tablecloth, rug or wall can sometimes confuse your camera’s auto-focus feature and prevent the code from scanning. If your certificate is on a patterned background, try moving it to a plain surface and re-scanning the QR code.
Put your certificate on a counter, table or other solid object. If it’s shaking too much, your phone’s camera can have trouble focusing. You can also try resting your elbows on the table to steady your phone.
Your phone’s camera may have trouble scanning the code if it’s tilted at an angle. Make sure it’s level with the surface that the QR code is printed on.
If you’re holding your phone too close or too far away, it won’t scan the QR code. Try holding your phone about a foot away and slowly moving it towards the QR code.
Some phone cameras can’t focus as well as others at close distances, so you may have to hold your phone a bit further away. Try holding your phone so the QR code is inside the red box and move it slowly away.
If you’ve already made the lighting brighter but the QR code still isn’t scanning, make sure a shadow isn’t falling on the QR code. This can often happen when you move your phone close to scan the QR code.
Your phone’s lens can pick up a lot of dust and smudges that can affect image clarity, so give it a wipe with a soft cloth to clean it off.
If the above screen (with a green tick) is shown when the certificate is scanned - this means it is a valid certificate which can be used for international travel and for indoor dining in Ireland.
If the above screen (with a red cross) is shown with a message saying that it is invalid for indoor use - this means you have a certificate based on a RT-PCR or antigen test which can be used for international travel only. It cannot be used for indoor dining in Ireland.
The checker will open once you click the button below.
You can leave technical feedback on how the checker works by clicking on on the 'Leave feedback' link below. This will help us to improve the checker.
Please state:
Do not include any personal details in your feedback. We will not respond to individual issues but we will take the technical feedback on board to improve the service for everybody.
This is a prototype - your feedback will help us to improve it.
