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1. Each Member State shall introduce the physical version of the European Disability Card following the common standardised and accessible format set out in Annex I. Member States shall include in the physical version of the card a QR code and any other digital features that use electronic means to prevent and combat fraud as laid down in the delegated acts referred to in paragraph 7, point (a), within a reasonable time after their adoption and not later than 5 June 2028.

2. European Disability Cards issued by Member States shall be mutually recognised in all Member States.

3. Competent authorities or bodies in the Member States shall issue, renew or withdraw the European Disability Card in accordance with their national rules, procedures and practice. Without prejudice to Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Member States shall ensure the security, integrity, authenticity and confidentiality of the personal data collected and stored for the purpose of this Directive. The competent authority or body responsible for issuing the European Disability Card shall be considered to be a controller as defined in Article 4, point (7), of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and shall have responsibility for the processing of personal data. Cooperation with external service providers shall not exclude any liability on the part of a Member State which may arise under Union or national law in respect of non-compliance with obligations with regard to personal data.

4. The European Disability Card shall be issued or renewed by the Member State of residence directly or upon application by the person with disabilities or by an authorised person, under national law. Persons with disabilities shall be informed about the possibility to apply for the European Disability Card where it is not issued directly. It shall be issued or renewed free of charge to the beneficiary, within the same period as applicable to issuing disability certificates, disability cards or other formal documents or to procedure recognising the disability status or entitlement to specific services based on a disability. Member States may decide to charge a fee for the costs relating to the reissuance of the European Disability Card in the event of loss or damage. Where such a fee is charged, Member States shall ensure that the fee does not exceed the administrative costs concerned or prevent or discourage persons with disabilities from requesting the reissuance of the European Disability Card.

5. The European Disability Card shall be issued as a physical version and shall be complemented by an accessible digital version within a reasonable time after the Commission has laid down the technical specifications referred to in Article 9(2). Persons with disabilities shall be given the option to request the physical version of card, the digital version or both. The digital version shall not contain more personal data than those provided for the physical version as set out in Annex I. The personal data contained in that digital version shall be encrypted and technical precautions shall be taken to ensure that the storage medium is read only by authorised users.

6. The validity of the European Disability Card shall be determined by the issuing Member State. Member States shall ensure that the European Disability Card has the longest possible validity taking into account, where applicable, the duration of validity of the disability certificate, disability card or other formal document or the duration of procedure recognising the disability status or entitlement to specific services issued by the competent authority or body of the Member State of residence of a person with disabilities.

7. By 5 December 2025, the Commission shall adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to supplement this Directive by:

(a) setting the QR code and, if appropriate, other state-of-the-art digital features that use electronic means for the physical version of the European Disability Card, to prevent and combat fraud; and (b) establishing digital features that ensure the security of the physical version of the European Disability Card, including the appropriate security measures for personal data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679, as well as interoperability matters, such as common Union applications for reading data contained in digital features in the physical version of the card that use electronic means to prevent and combat fraud.

8. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 14 to amend this Directive by modifying the data fields of the standardised format for the European Disability Card set out in Annex I where such modifications are necessary to adapt the format to technical developments, to prevent forgery and fraud, to address abuse or misuse or to ensure interoperability. In those delegated acts, Member States shall be given sufficient time to implement such modifications.