The difference between a standard eHerkenning authorisation and a Chain Authorisation is the login relationship. With a standard eHerkenning authorisation, you log in on behalf of your own organization. In this case, a separate eHerkenning credential is required for each employee and entity.
With a chain authorisation (Ketenmachtiging), employees who already have eHerkenning can log in on behalf of another organization using eHerkenning, for example as an intermediary. In that case, the intermediary requests the chain authorisation via its own eHerkenning provider. The other organisation then grants this chain authorisation via its own eHerkenning provider. An eHerkenning company administrator of the intermediary can subsequently assign the chain authorisation to all employees who already have eHerkenning.
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Standard eHerkenning authorisation (eHerkenning Level 2, 3, or 4)
A standard eHerkenning authorisation allows an employee to log in on behalf of a single company. Does an employee also need access to another company? Then the employee must register eHerkenning separately for each company.
In short: if your employees need eHerkenning for multiple entities, each employee requires a separate eHerkenning product for each entity.
Chain authorisation (eHerkenning Level 3)
A chain authorisation is a link between two different companies and gives your employees who already have eHerkenning the ability to log in on behalf of another company, for example as an intermediary.
How it works:
Company A requests the chain authorisation through its own eHerkenning provider.
Company B grants the chain authorisation through its own eHerkenning provider.
Only when both parties complete these steps can the employees of Company A with an active eHerkenning Level 3 fully log in on behalf of Company B.
Important: a chain authorisation must match exactly for both parties, ensuring that access is always secure and correct.
Moreover, it is possible to request a chain authorisation even if Company A and Company B have their eHerkenning with different providers.
Summary
Standard eHerkenning authorisation: An authorisation for a single company. You pay for each employee and for each entity.
Example: If you have 40 employees with eHerkenning who also need access to another entity, they must purchase an additional 40 eHerkenning products for that entity.
Chain authorisation: access for your employees with eHerkenning to another company, through a carefully coordinated process in which both companies must take action.
Example: If you have 40 employees with eHerkenning who need access to another entity, you can authorize them via a chain authorisation, allowing you to save costs because no additional eHerkenning products are required.