Who Issues the A1 Certificate? The Competent Institution in All 32 Countries

The host State never issues it, and neither does a labour inspectorate.

The A1 shows which State's social security legislation applies, so the issuer is always a body of that State, and the right address depends on the situation and the country. Finding that address is one step in the EU rules for posted workers in the EU.

This page covers the issuer rule by situation, the checks issuers have made since 1 November 2026, the issuer in all 32 countries with a dated source, the German split, the official directory and five steps to reach the right issuer.

Which Institution Issues the A1 Under EU Law?

The A1 comes from the competent institution of the Member State whose legislation applies under Title II of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, and it states that this legislation applies and, where appropriate, until what date and under what conditions (Article 19(2) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009). The request comes from the person concerned or from the employer. Under Article 1(q) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, the competent institution is the institution with which the person is insured, the institution from which the person is or would be entitled to benefits, or the institution designated by the competent authority of the Member State concerned. The issuing State therefore follows from the rule that decides the applicable legislation, and the issuer changes with the situation.

Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of 16 September 2009 and Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 have both applied since 1 May 2010, when the portable document A1 replaced the E 101 certificate of Regulations (EEC) No 1408/71 and No 574/72. Both Regulations apply directly in every Member State without national transposition; only the name of the issuing body differs. The document itself, and what it proves for the host State, is explained under what the A1 certificate proves.

Issuers for Postings, Work in Several States and Exception Requests

Six situations decide which body issues the A1, and the table below names the legal basis for each.

A person who normally works in two or more States sends the request to the designated institution of the State of residence, even where the employer is established in another State. That institution determines the applicable legislation provisionally, and the determination becomes definitive after two months (Article 16(1) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009).

What the Issuing Institution Must Check Since 1 November 2026

Since 1 November 2026 the issuing institution must issue the A1 in a standardised format and only after a proper assessment of the facts, confirming that the information is correct (Article 19(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/2359). Regulation (EU) 2026/2359 of 7 October 2026 (CELEX 32026R2359) was published in the Official Journal on 27 October 2026 and entered into force on 1 November 2026.

Under Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 as amended, from 2 November 2028 the employer informs the competent institution before the activity starts, with an A1 request, and receives an automatic acknowledgement of receipt where the A1 is not issued at once (Article 15(1) and (1a)); today Article 15(1) asks for this information whenever possible in advance. From the same date the issuer withdraws or rectifies an A1 within 30 working days where an error is found (Article 19a(2)); an A1 binds the institutions of other States until the issuing State withdraws it or declares it invalid (Article 5(1)). Persons sent before 2 November 2028 keep the old Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 for that posting (Article 87b(4) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004). The take-over of Regulation (EU) 2026/2359 by Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland is pending as of 5 November 2026. Deadlines for correcting an A1 are set out under withdrawal and validity of an A1.

A1 Issuing Institutions in All 32 Countries

Each of the 32 countries that exchange social security data through EESSI, the 27 Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, names its own A1 issuing institution, and the table below gives it with the source and the date of that source. Twenty-four rows rest on the European Commission's PD A1 contact list dated 22 October 2021, seven of them checked against that list on 5 November 2026. Six rows rest on a national page with its check date, and two point to the directory.

The United Kingdom issues the A1 under Article SSC.11 of the TCA Protocol on Social Security Coordination rather than under Title II of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. "Check the EESSI directory" means that no current issuer is confirmed for that country.

How Germany Splits A1 Issuing by Insurance Status

Germany has no single issuer: the body that issues the A1 depends on how the worker is insured. The Deutsche Verbindungsstelle Krankenversicherung - Ausland (DVKA) sets out this split in its FAQ for employers, and the five cases are compared below.

Deutsche Rentenversicherung adds a practice for short trips in its A1 FAQ (status 1 January 2026): for business trips of up to seven days, the A1 may be applied for afterwards if needed, but for France, Austria and Switzerland it is applied for in advance. This is institutional guidance, not an EU exemption.

German A1 requests have been electronic only for all groups since 1 January 2025, according to the same FAQ. Employers apply by data transmission from a system-checked payroll program or an electronic filling aid (§ 106(1) SGB IV), self-employed persons through a guided electronic form (§ 106a(1) SGB IV), and once German law is found to apply, the A1 data are made available within three working days. Who applies and with which data is covered in the guide on how to apply for the A1.

Countries Where More Than One Body Issues the A1

In eight countries besides Germany the issuer depends on the person's scheme, the length of the posting or the local office. France splits by scheme between URSSAF (general scheme, through ILASS) and the MSA (agricultural scheme), and Poland between ZUS field units and KRUS for farmers. Local offices issue it in four countries: the NEAK and the county government offices in Hungary, the district social security administrations of the ČSSZ in Czechia, the district centres of the Instituto da Segurança Social in Portugal, and the CNPP with the county pension houses in Romania.

Switzerland splits by length: the employer's AHV compensation fund (Ausgleichskasse) issues the A1 for postings of up to 24 months on the social security clock, with applications through ALPS (Applicable Legislation Platform Switzerland), and the Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV) handles longer postings by exception agreement, according to AHV/IV leaflet 10.01 (status 1 January 2026). Austria splits by insurer: the ÖGK handles A1 applications for employees, which the employer files exclusively via ELDA, and the SVS issues the A1 for self-employed traders (Gewerbetreibende) and new self-employed persons (Neue Selbständige), at an SVS customer centre or through its online application "Entsendebescheinigung (PD-A1)".

How to Find an A1 Issuer in the EESSI Directory

The European Commission's EESSI Public Access to Institutions directory lists the social security institutions of all 32 EESSI countries, and it is the official place to check an issuer's current name and contact details. The directory holds the addresses that the country table does not repeat.

The Commission's PD A1 contact list is dated 22 October 2021 and is partly outdated. France shows the gap: the list names the CPAM, while CLEISS (checked 5 November 2026) tells employers to use URSSAF's online service ILASS. Every row of the country table therefore carries its source and date.

A Commission proposal would close this gap. COM(2026) 980 of 15 September 2026 (procedure 2026/0271(COD)), the proposed regulation on digitalising social security coordination known as ESSPASS, would require Member States to communicate their lists of A1 issuing institutions within 12 months of its entry into force (Article 7(3) of the proposal). The proposal is pending as of 5 November 2026: its referral to the European Parliament's EMPL committee was announced on 19 October 2026, and the rapporteur was appointed on 4 November 2026.

Issuers This Page Does Not Name Yet

For Greece and Iceland this page names no issuer, because no current issuer page was confirmed for either country as of 5 November 2026. For both countries, the EESSI directory gives the current institution.

The same route applies to the A1 issuer for self-employed persons in France and in Belgium, where only the employee route is confirmed (URSSAF and the MSA, the NSSO). In Austria, any insurer other than the ÖGK and the SVS is found in the directory.

How to Reach the Right A1 Issuer Before a Posting

Find the issuer before the posting starts, because the A1 request goes to the institution of the State whose law will apply, not to the host country. The five steps below cover the social security side; every other duty is in the posting compliance checklist.

1. Decide which of the six situations in the first table applies.
2. Identify the State whose legislation applies and its issuing institution in the country table.
3. Check the worker's insurance status first in Germany, because it decides the issuing body.
4. Confirm the institution's current name and contact details in the EESSI directory.
5. Send the request through the issuer's channel and keep the A1 with the posting file; the labour-law notification in the host State is a separate filing, explained under posting declarations.

Beyond the A1 Issuer: Applications, Validity and Cover Outside Europe

The issuer is one step of the A1, and five neighbouring questions each have their own page, listed below.

• The document: what an A1 certificate looks like.
• The duration: the 24-month limit of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 is a social security clock, explained under social security for posted workers; it runs separately from the labour-law clock of the Posting of Workers Directive 96/71/EC, where long-term posting starts after 12 months, or 18 months with a motivated notification (Article 3(1a) of Directive 96/71/EC).
• The revision: Regulation (EU) 2026/2359 changes the rules for issuers and employers from 2 November 2028.
• Cover outside the EU, the EEA, Switzerland and the UK: no A1 exists there; where a bilateral agreement applies, the sending State's institution issues a certificate of coverage, see social security agreements outside the EU.
• Short trips: A1 for business trips explains the A1 question today and the exemption from prior notification from 2 November 2028 (Article 15(1b) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 as amended), which does not cover the construction work listed in Annex 6.

Questions on A1 Issuers

Five questions come up most often about who issues the A1.

Does the host country issue the A1?

No. In the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, the A1 is issued by the competent institution of the State whose social security legislation applies, which for a posted worker is the sending State, not the host country (Article 19(2) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009).

Is the A1 issued by the tax office?

Not as a rule: the A1 comes from the competent institution of the State whose legislation applies (Article 19(2) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009), usually a pension or health insurance body. Two issuers in the country table are revenue bodies, Bulgaria's National Revenue Agency and the UK's HMRC; Ireland's issuer is the Department of Social Protection, not Revenue.

Who issues the A1 when someone works in two or more countries?

In the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, the designated institution of the State of residence determines the legislation under Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 and issues the A1 (Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009), even when the employer is based in another State.

Who issues the A1 in Germany?

In Germany the issuer under Article 19(2) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 depends on insurance status: the statutory health insurance fund for its members, Deutsche Rentenversicherung for people outside statutory health insurance and professional schemes, and the ABV for professional pension scheme members. The GKV-Spitzenverband, DVKA handles work in several States with residence in Germany and exception agreements.

Does the UK still issue A1 certificates after Brexit?

Yes: HMRC's NIC and Employers Office issues the A1 for workers detached from the UK to an EU Member State for up to 24 months under Article SSC.11 of the TCA Protocol on Social Security Coordination, a rule that every Member State has opted in to.