Short answers to the questions people ask us most often. Each answer links to the page with the details.
About CEI One
Is CEI One an official government app?
No. CEI One is an independent app for using the Romanian electronic identity card (eID) on iPhone and Mac. See What is CEI One.
What do I need to use CEI One?
Your eID, its codes and a compatible device. On iPhone, you need iOS 26.2 or later and NFC. On Mac, you need macOS 14 or later and a contact USB CCID card reader. See What you need.
Does CEI One work without internet?
Reading your eID and creating a proof of address work without internet. Signing needs internet for the timestamp and the validation evidence: without them, the signed PDF isn’t saved. Full signature verification also uses the internet. See Privacy and security.
Why do some texts appear in a language other than the one chosen in the app?
The language you choose in CEI One applies to the app’s screens. Windows shown by the system, for example the file picker or the save window, follow your iPhone’s or Mac’s language.
Also, with the app in English, a few progress messages in the iPhone’s NFC window appear in Romanian, for example “Citim datele…” (reading the data) or “Autorizam semnarea…” (authorizing signing). This is normal. See Read your eID on iPhone.
Siri phrases and Spotlight actions also follow your iPhone’s language, not the language chosen in the app. See Shortcuts, Siri, widget and Control Center.
The names in the Mac’s Services menu follow the macOS language. See CEI One in Finder.
Codes
Which code do I use for each task?
To read your data: the CAN (6 digits) and the data PIN (4 digits). To sign: the CAN and the signing PIN (6 digits). To verify a signature, you don’t need any code, or your eID. See CAN and PIN codes.
Where do I find the CAN?
On the front of your eID, right under the “Date of expiry” field. The PINs aren’t printed on the eID: you received them separately. See CAN and PIN codes.
What happens if I enter the wrong PIN?
After 5 incorrect attempts, the PIN is blocked. CEI One never retries a rejected PIN automatically, and it asks you to confirm before the last attempt (on Mac, when signing or changing a PIN). A blocked PIN can’t be unblocked from the app: the official reset procedure is required. See Troubleshooting.
Can I change my PINs in the app?
Only on Mac, from PIN codes. There you change the data PIN and the signing PIN separately. This option isn’t available on iPhone.
See Change your PIN codes on Mac.
Do I have to type the CAN every time?
Not necessarily. After a successful read, you can remember a card’s CAN and then use it with Face ID, Touch ID or your password. Remembering it is optional. See App lock and remembered CAN.
Reading your eID
Where do I hold my eID against my iPhone?
Hold the chip flat against the top of the iPhone and don’t move the eID until it’s done. On iPhone X to iPhone 17, the NFC reader is on the back, around the cameras: reading usually works best with the eID flat against the back, next to the cameras. On iPhone SE, it’s on the back, at the top, next to the camera. On iPhone 18, hold the eID over the top edge, sticking out slightly to the right, with the photo facing you. See Read your eID on iPhone.
Why is the photo missing when I read my eID on Mac?
Some eIDs don’t provide the photo or the handwritten signature through a contact reader. The text data reads normally, but the identity report and the proof of address need the photo. See Troubleshooting.
Does the identity report confirm that the data is authentic?
No. The app checks the data’s authenticity when reading it, on your device, and shows you a warning only if the check fails. The PDF report contains the data that was read, but says nothing about its authenticity.
On iPhone, see Identity report and proof of address on iPhone.
On Mac, see Proof of address and identity report on Mac.
Signing
Why do I have to hold my eID to the iPhone twice when signing?
The first signature with a new certificate may need a second tap. The app reads the certificate, downloads the issuer’s revocation list, then asks you to “Hold your eID to the iPhone again to sign”. See Sign a PDF on iPhone.
Is the signature in the PDF just an image?
No. The electronic signature is cryptographic, made with the certificate and the key on your eID. The visible mark on the page (with your name or handwritten signature) only shows where and by whom the document was signed.
On iPhone, see Sign a PDF on iPhone.
On Mac, see Sign a PDF on Mac.
Where do I find the PDF after signing it?
On iPhone, the signed PDF is saved automatically to Local history. You can send it with Share or save it to Files with Save.
On Mac, you choose Save a copy… and, if you check Save a copy to the local library, you also find it in Documents.
The original file isn’t changed.
Can I open a PDF from Mail or Files in CEI One?
Yes, on iPhone: choose CEI One from “Open in” or from the share sheet. The PDF opens in Sign PDF and can be up to 50 MB. See Sign a PDF on iPhone.
On Mac, you can sign or verify a PDF straight from Finder, with Sign with CEI One and Verify with CEI One. See CEI One in Finder.
Can I sign several PDFs at once?
Yes. You can sign up to 20 PDFs at once, entering your codes only once.
See Sign several PDFs on iPhone.
Verification
Can I verify a PDF signed by someone else?
Yes. On iPhone, use Verify signature. You don’t need your eID. See Verify a PDF signature on iPhone.
Yes. On Mac, use Analyze PDF. You don’t need your eID. See Analyze a PDF on Mac.
What does “Valid with warnings” mean?
The signatures are cryptographically valid, but something couldn’t be fully confirmed: for example, there was no internet connection, or annotations were added to the document after signing. The explanation under the verdict tells you why. See Signature verification results.
Data and iCloud
What goes to iCloud?
Nothing, unless you turn on sync: it’s off by default. If you turn it on, eligible PDFs and their metadata are synced. The CAN, PINs, identity data, identity reports and proofs of address are never synced. See iCloud sync.
Will I lose my documents if I change phones?
The CEI One library is excluded from device backups. Without iCloud sync, your documents aren’t restored on a new device. Turn on iCloud sync or export the important documents beforehand. See iCloud sync.