EU Company Vocabulary

1 Abstract

This specification describes an experimental vocabulary for asserting a EU Company Certificate. Enterprises can use this certificate to prove claims about themselves to business partners. The EU Company Certificate contains a subject which represents the company as legal person. It holds selected claims about the company including a list of representatives. Representatives are linked to Natural or Legal Persons which are held in separate credentials.

Click here to open the JSON-LD file: eucc.jsonld

2 Use Case and Requirements

The following vocabulary is intented to be used in cross-border uses cases in Europe. The two first use cases are:

Opening a bank
KYC - Risk management in compliance with money laundering act.

The vocabulary represents the set of claims agreed between the partners of the EU Digital Identity Wallet Consortium (EWC).

The vocabulary is reusing the following EU Core Vocabularies:

The vocabulary is intended to be used to describe the following subjects:

LegalPerson: refers to an entity that has legal rights and responsibilities, separate from the individuals who comprise it. Legal persons can include corporations, partnerships, associations, and other organizations recognized by the law.
NaturalPerson: refers to an individual, a human being who has legal rights and responsibilities. In this document NaturalPerson always refers to a human being acting on behalf of a LegalPerson.

3 Examples

The examples presented in this section are Verifiable Credentials implementing the W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model (VCDM). For brevity, they are shown without proof. W3C Verifiable Credentials can be issued using any of the following proofs:

LD-Proof
JOSE
JOSE + "Selective Disclosure for JWTs"

3.1 Legal Person Credential

The following example shows a Legal Person Credential:

{
  "@context": [
    "https://www.w3.org/ns/credentials/v2",
    "https://oid.spherity.com/contexts/eucc/v1"
  ],
  "type": [
    "VerifiableCredential",
    "EuCompanyCertificate"
  ],
  "id": "urn:uuid:f086cced-1153-4540-993b-b4d52ca499c2",
  "validFrom": "2019-12-03T12:19:52Z",
  "validUntil": "2029-12-03T12:19:52Z",
  "issuer": "did:key:z6MkiY62766b1LJkExWMsM3QG4WtX7QpY823dxoYzr9qZvJ3",
  "credentialSubject": {
    "id": "did:key:z6Mki562766b1LJkExWMsM3QG4WtX7QpY823dxoYzr9qZvJ2",
    "type": [
      "LegalPerson"
    ],
    "legalName": {
      "@language": "de",
      "@value": "Flower Power AG"
    },
    "legalIdentifier": "DEPLPOAG.123456789",
    "legalFormType": "Aktiengesellschaft",
    "registeredAddress": {
      "post_code": 10119,
      "post_name": "Berlin",
      "thoroughfare": "Unter den Linden",
      "locator_designator": 33
    },
    "registrationDate": "2024-07-02T09:49:49Z",
    "legalEntityStatus": "Active",
    "legalRepresentative": [
      {
        "legalEntityId": "did:key:z6Mki562766b1LJkExWMsM3QG4WtX7QpY823dxoYzr9qZvJ2", // link to subject of Natural or Legal Person Credential
        "role": "CEO",
        "scopeOfRepresentation": "Alone"
      },
      {
        "legalEntityId": "did:key:z6Mki562766b1LJkExWMsM3QG4WtX7QpY823dxoYzr9qZvJ1", // link to subject of Natural or Legal Person Credential
        "role": "Director",
        "scopeOfRepresentation": "Jointly"
      }
    ],
    "legalEntityActivity": {
      "type": "Nace020",
      "code": "IT",
      "businessDescription": "Tech Int. Trade"
    },
    "contactPoint": {
      "contactPage": "https://flower-power.com"
    }
  }
}

This credential is bound to the Legal Person. Therefore, a DID which is under control of the Legal Person is assigned to the term id of the credential subject.

3.2 Natural Person Credential (NPC)

The following example represents the credential of a Natural Person:

{
  "@context": [
    "https://www.w3.org/ns/credentials/v2",
    "https://oid.spherity.com/contexts/oid/v1.jsonld"
  ],
  "type": [
    "VerifiableCredential",
    "LegalEntityCertificate"
  ],
  "id": "urn:uuid:f086cced-1153-4540-993b-b4d52ca499c2",
  "validFrom": "2019-12-03T12:19:52Z",
  "validUntil": "2029-12-03T12:19:52Z",
  "issuer": "did:key:z6MkiY62766b1LJkExWMsM3QG4WtX7QpY823dxoYzr9qZvJ3",
  "credentialSubject": {
    "id": "did:key:z6Mki562766b1LJkExWMsM3QG4WtX7QpY823dxoYzr9qZvJ2", // unique subject id used
    "type": "NaturalPerson",
    "givenName": "John",
    "familyName": "Doe",
    "gender": "Male",
    "birthDate": "1970-01-01",
    "domicile": {
      "postalCode": "10119",
      "addressCountry": "Germany",
      "addressLocality": "Berlin"
    }
  }
}

This particular credential uses key binding to bind the credential to the holder. The holder of this credential is the Natural Person described in the credential subject. Therefore, a DID which is controlled by the Natural Persons is assigned to the term id of the credential subject. This enables the Natural Person to present this credential in form of a verifiable credential.

4 Information Model

NaturalPerson and LegalPerson are the subjects of credentials - see Examples.

Please note that the classes LegalRepresentative, ContactPoint and Nace020 are aggregated, i.e. they exist only in the context of LegalPerson. Similarly, Domicile is an aggregated class that only exists in the context of NaturalPerson. LegalEntity has a composition relationship with LegalRepresentative, i.e. the LegalEntity (NaturalPerson or LegalPerson) exists independently of LegalRepresentative.

Further, LegalEntity is an abstract class and can only be instantiated as NaturalPerson or LegalPerson. LegalRepresentative and ContactPoint are anonymous classes. They are instantiated as value of the corresponding property only:

LegalRepresentative is described as value of LegalPerson.legalRepresentative.
ContactPoint is described as value of LegalPerson.contactPoint.

The Nace020 class does not represent an anonymous class, as legalEntityActivity may contain other classes describing the business activity, such as WZ2008, in future implementations.

5 Classes

This section describes the classes as defined in the information model. Please note that anonymous classes only exist as instantiated values. Therefore, they are described as value in the section of the corresponding property, i.e.:

LegalRepresentative is described as value of LegalPerson.legalRepresentative.
ContactPoint is described as value of LegalPerson.contactPoint.

5.1 LegalEntity

A LegalEntity is either a NaturalPerson (human being) or LegalPerson (organisation, company, ...).

5.2 LegalPerson

The Legal Person uniquely identifies a legal person, as defined by the EWC. Please note that the Business Core Vocabulary refers to LegalPerson using the term LegalEntity.

Key	Value
Term	LegalPerson
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#LegalPerson

Field	Description
legalName	The name under which the Legal Person is legally registered.
legalIdentifier	The unambiguous structured reference assigned to the Legal Person by the legal authority that registered it.
legalFormType	The classification of the Legal Person as a member of a particular group in the context of legal registration.
registeredAddress	The address at which the Legal Person is legally registered.
contactPoint	Information (e.g. e-mail address, telephone number) of the legal person through which a user can get in touch with.
registrationDate	The date of registration of the legal person at the legal authority.
legalEntityStatus	Information about the viability of the current position of the legal person.
legalRepresentative	A natural or legal person who is authorized to represent this legal person alone or jointly.
legalEntityActivity	The area of work in which the Legal Entity is engaged.

5.3 NaturalPerson

A natural person describes a human who may act as a legal entity.

Key	Value
Term	NaturalPerson
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#NaturalPerson

Field	Description
familyName	Natural person's family name
givenName	Natural person's given name
gender	Natural person's specified gender
birthDate	Natural person's birth date
birthPlace	Natural person's birth place
postalAddress	Natural person's postal address
taxDomicile	Natural person's tax domicile
isAlive	Indicates if natural person is alive
jobTitle	Natural person's job title
citizenship	Natural person's citizenship
domicile	Natural person's current domicile

5.4 Nace020

Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community

Key	Value
Term	Nace020
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#Nace020

Field	Description
businessCode	Code of the economic activity.
businessDescription	Informational description of the economic activity as classified by NACE.

6 Properties

6.1 Properties of LegalPerson

6.1.1 legalName

The name under which the Legal Person is legally registered.

Key	Value
Term	legalName
URL	http://www.w3.org/ns/legal#legalName
Expected Value	language-tagged string

6.1.2 legalIdentifier

EUID technical structure (source):

<country code><business register code>.<domestic registration number>_<optional validation character>

Example from Bolagsverket: SEBOLREG.5560678965s

Key	Value
Term	legalIdentifier
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#LegalPerson_legalIdentifier
Expected Value	string

6.1.3 legalFormType

The classification of the Legal Person as a member of a particular group in the context of legal registration.

Key	Value
Term	legalFormType
URL	http://www.w3.org/ns/legal#legalFormType
Expected Value	string

6.1.4 registeredAddress

The address at which the Legal Person is legally registered.

Key	Value
Term	registeredAddress
URL	http://data.europa.eu/m8g/registeredAddress

6.1.5 contactPoint

Information (e.g. e-mail address, telephone number) of a legal person through which a user can get in touch with.

Key	Value
Term	contactPoint
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#LegalPerson_contactPoint
Expected Value	ContactPoint

ContactPoint

Field	Description
contactPage	A web page that could be used to reach out the Contact Point.
hasEmail	An electronic address through which the Contact Point can be contacted.
hasTelephone	A telephone number through which the Contact Point can be contacted.

6.1.5.1 contactPage

A web page that could be used to reach out the Contact Point.

Key	Value
Term	contactPage
URL	http://data.europa.eu/m8g/contactPage
Expected Value	string

6.1.5.2 hasEmail

An electronic address through which the Contact Point can be contacted.

Key	Value
Term	hasEmail
URL	http://data.europa.eu/m8g/email
Expected Value	string

6.1.5.3 hasTelephone

A telephone number through which the Contact Point can be contacted.

Key	Value
Term	hasTelephone
URL	http://data.europa.eu/m8g/telephone
Expected Value	string

6.1.6 registrationDate

The date of registration of the legal person at the legal authority.

Key	Value
Term	registrationDate
URL	http://data.europa.eu/m8g/registrationDate
Expected Value	https://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#date

6.1.7 legalEntityStatus

Information about the viability of the current position of the legal person.

Key	Value
Term	legalEntityStatus
URL	http://data.europa.eu/m8g/companyStatus
Expected Value	string

6.1.8 legalRepresentative

A natural or legal person who is authorized to represent this legal person alone or jointly.

Key	Value
Term	legalRepresentative
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#LegalPerson_legalRepresentative
Expected Value	LegalRepresentative

LegalRepresentative

Field	Description
legalEntityId	Unique id of natural or legal person authorized to represent this legal person.
role	The role in which the legal representative is acting when representing the legal person.
scopeOfRepresentation	Scope of representation either jointly or alone.

6.1.8.1 legalEntityId

Unique id of natural or legal person authorized to represent this legal person. The id is either a DID allowing th legal presentative to authenticates against a verifier by providing an authentication proof with the credential presentation or a URN allowing to identify the legal representative.

Key	Value
Term	legalEntityId
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#legalRepresentative_legalEntityId
Expected Value	DID or URN

6.1.8.2 role

The role in which the legal representative is acting when representing the legal person.

Key	Value
Term	legalRepresentative
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#legalRepresentative_role
Expected Value	string

6.1.8.3 scopeOfRepresentation

Scope of representation either jointly or alone.

Key	Value
Term	legalRepresentative
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#legalRepresentative_scopeOfRepresentation
Expected Value	"Jointly" or "Alone"

6.1.9 legalEntityActivity

The area of work in which the Legal Entity is engaged.

Key	Value
Term	legalEntityActivity
URL	http://data.europa.eu/m8g/companyActivity
Expected Value	Legal Entity Activity Class, e.g. Nace020

6.2 Properties of NaturalPerson

6.2.1 familyName

Natural person's family name.

Key	Value
Term	familyName
URL	http://schema.org/familyName

6.2.2 givenName

Natural person's given name.

Key	Value
Term	givenName
URL	http://schema.org/givenName

6.2.3 gender

Natural person's specified gender.

Key	Value
Term	gender
URL	http://schema.org/gender

6.2.4 birthDate

Natural person's birth date.

Key	Value
Term	birthDate
URL	http://schema.org/birthDate

6.2.5 jobTitle

Natural person's job title.

Key	Value
Term	jobTitle
URL	http://schema.org/jobTitle

6.2.6 birthPlace

Natural person's birth place.

Key	Value
Term	birthPlace
URL	http://schema.org/birthPlace

6.2.7 postalAddress

Natural person's postal address.

Key	Value
Term	postalAddress
URL	http://schema.org/PostalAddress

6.2.8 taxDomicile

Natural person's tax domicile.

Key	Value
Term	taxDomicile
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#NaturalPerson_taxDomicile
Expected Value	http://schema.org/addressCountry

6.2.9 isAlive

Indicates whether the natural person is alive.

Key	Value
Term	isAlive
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#NaturalPerson_isAlive
Expected Value	http://schema.org/Boolean

6.2.10 citizenship

Natural person's citizenship.

Key	Value
Term	citizenship
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#NaturalPerson_citizenship
Expected Value	http://schema.org/addressCountry

6.2.11 domicile

Natural person's current domicile.

Key	Value
Term	domicile
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#NaturalPerson_domicile
Value	Domicile

Domicile

Field	Description
postalCode	The postal code. For example, 94043.
addressCountry	The country. For example, USA. You can also provide the two-letter ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code.
addressLocality	The locality in which the street address is, and which is in the region. For example, Mountain View.

6.2.11.1 postalCode

Natural person's domicile postal code.

Key	Value
Term	postalCode
URL	https://schema.org/postalCode

6.2.11.2 addressLocality

Natural person's domicile address.

Key	Value
Term	addressLocality
URL	http://schema.org/addressLocality

6.2.11.3 addressCountry

Natural person's domicile country code.

Key	Value
Term	addressCountry
URL	http://schema.org/addressCountry

6.3 Properties of Nace020

6.3.1 businessCode

Code of the economic activity.

Key	Value
Term	businessCode
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#Nace020_businessCode
Expected Value	Code

6.3.2 businessDescription

Informational description of the economic activity as classified by NACE.

Key	Value
Term	businessDescription
URL	https://oid.spherity.com/eucc#Nace020_businessDescription
Expected Value	string

References

Verifiable Credentials Data Model v2.0. Manu Sporny, Ted Thibodeau Jr, Ivan Herman, Michael B. Jones, Gabe Cohen. 2024

EU Company Vocabulary

1 Abstract​

2 Use Case and Requirements​

3 Examples​

3.1 Legal Person Credential​

3.2 Natural Person Credential (NPC)​

4 Information Model​

5 Classes​

5.1 LegalEntity​

5.2 LegalPerson​

5.3 NaturalPerson​

5.4 Nace020​

6 Properties​

6.1 Properties of LegalPerson​

6.1.1 legalName​

6.1.2 legalIdentifier​

6.1.3 legalFormType​

6.1.4 registeredAddress​

6.1.5 contactPoint​

ContactPoint​

6.1.5.1 contactPage​

6.1.5.2 hasEmail​

6.1.5.3 hasTelephone​

6.1.6 registrationDate​

6.1.7 legalEntityStatus​

6.1.8 legalRepresentative​

6.1.8.1 legalEntityId​

6.1.8.2 role​

6.1.8.3 scopeOfRepresentation​

6.1.9 legalEntityActivity​

6.2 Properties of NaturalPerson​

6.2.1 familyName​

6.2.2 givenName​

6.2.3 gender​

6.2.4 birthDate​

6.2.5 jobTitle​

6.2.6 birthPlace​

6.2.7 postalAddress​

6.2.8 taxDomicile​

6.2.9 isAlive​

6.2.10 citizenship​

6.2.11 domicile​

Domicile​

6.2.11.1 postalCode​

6.2.11.2 addressLocality​

6.2.11.3 addressCountry​

6.3 Properties of Nace020​

6.3.1 businessCode​

6.3.2 businessDescription​

References​