Governments and standards bodies have now put dates on the move away from quantum-vulnerable public-key cryptography. This post-quantum cryptography timeline brings the published deadlines from NIST, the White House and OMB, the NSA, the UK NCSC and the EU into one place, with what each one requires, who it affects and a link to the primary source.
Most of these documents bind government agencies and national security systems directly. They still matter to everyone else, because they set the expectations that suppliers, regulated firms and critical infrastructure operators are increasingly asked to meet.
Next deadlines
31 December 2026: EU Member States should have initial national post-quantum roadmaps in place.
1 January 2027: new equipment for US national security systems should be CNSA 2.0 compliant.
Post-quantum cryptography timeline by regulator
White House and OMB
US federal agencies
31 December 2030: post-quantum key establishment for high value assets and high impact systems
31 December 2031: post-quantum signatures for the same systems
2035: goal for completing the federal migration
NSA · US national security systems
CNSA 2.0 timeline
1 January 2027: new equipment should be CNSA 2.0 compliant
31 December 2030: equipment that cannot support CNSA 2.0 phased out
31 December 2031: CNSA 2.0 algorithms mandated
NIST · standards
NIST PQC timeline
13 August 2024: FIPS 203, 204 and 205 published
After 2030: RSA, ECDSA, EdDSA and ECDH deprecated
After 2035: quantum-vulnerable algorithms disallowed
NCSC · guidance, not law
UK NCSC timeline
By 2028: goals, discovery and an initial migration plan
By 2031: highest-priority migrations complete
By 2035: migration complete
NIS Cooperation Group · Member States
EU PQC roadmap
31 December 2026: first steps and initial national roadmaps
31 December 2030: high-risk use cases migrated
By 2035: medium-risk use cases migrated
EU DORA and the G7 Cyber Expert Group
Financial sector
17 January 2025: DORA applies, with no post-quantum deadline
12 January 2026: G7 roadmap for the financial sector published
Why post-quantum migration has deadlines
A sufficiently powerful quantum computer would be able to break RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography, which protect most key exchange and digital signatures in use today. Encrypted data can be captured now and stored until it can be decrypted, so information that must stay confidential for years is already exposed. Signatures matter too: if they can be forged, software updates, certificates and transaction approvals can no longer be trusted.
Migrating cryptography across real systems takes years, which is why the deadlines below start well before any such machine is known to exist.
Upcoming post-quantum deadlines
Late 2026: EU national roadmaps and a contractor rule
Within 180 days of 22 June 2026
Upcoming
United States · Executive Order 14412 (FAR Council)
The FAR Council must publish a proposed rule requiring covered federal contractors to comply with NIST’s FIPS, including the post-quantum algorithms, by 31 December 2030.
Who is affected: Covered US federal contractors.
31 December 2026
Upcoming
European Union · NIS Cooperation Group roadmap
Under the EU roadmap, Member States should have completed their first steps, have initial national roadmaps in place and have begun planning and pilots for high- and medium-risk use cases.
Who is affected: EU Member States and their national authorities.
2027: new national security systems
1 January 2027
Upcoming
United States · NSA CNSA 2.0
Under the NSA’s CNSA 2.0 guidance, new equipment acquired for US national security systems should be CNSA 2.0 compliant.
Who is affected: Owners of US national security systems and the vendors that supply them.
31 December 2027
Upcoming
United States · Executive Order 14412
Executive Order 14412 sets this date for a NIST-led pilot of post-quantum migration.
Who is affected: NIST and the federal agencies taking part in the pilot.
2028: discovery and planning in the UK
By 2028
Upcoming
United Kingdom · NCSC
The NCSC expects organisations to have defined their migration goals, carried out discovery of the cryptography they depend on and built an initial migration plan.
Who is affected: UK organisations, mainly large organisations, critical national infrastructure operators and companies with bespoke IT. This is guidance, not law.
2030: the most sensitive systems move first
2 January 2030
Upcoming
United States · OMB M-26-15
US federal agencies must support TLS 1.3, which underpins post-quantum key exchange on the web.
Who is affected: US federal agencies.
31 December 2030
Upcoming
United States · Executive Order 14412 and OMB
US high value assets and high impact systems must use post-quantum cryptography for key establishment, and OMB asks agencies to mitigate as much quantum risk as feasible by this date.
Who is affected: US federal agencies, starting with high value assets and high impact systems.
31 December 2030
Upcoming
United States · proposed FAR rule
Under the rule the FAR Council has been told to propose, covered contractors would need to comply with NIST’s FIPS, including the post-quantum algorithms, by this date.
Who is affected: Covered US federal contractors.
31 December 2030
Upcoming
European Union · NIS Cooperation Group roadmap
Under the EU roadmap, high-risk use cases should be migrated. The roadmap treats data whose confidentiality must last ten years or more as high risk.
Who is affected: EU Member States and their national authorities.
31 December 2030
Upcoming
United States · NSA CNSA 2.0
National security system equipment that cannot support CNSA 2.0 should be phased out.
Who is affected: Owners of US national security systems and the vendors that supply them.
After 2030
Upcoming
Standards · NIST IR 8547
NIST IR 8547 deprecates quantum-vulnerable public-key algorithms such as RSA, ECDSA, EdDSA and elliptic-curve Diffie-Hellman.
Who is affected: Anyone who follows NIST standards, including federal systems and their suppliers.
2031: signatures and priority migrations
31 December 2031
Upcoming
United States · Executive Order 14412
US high value assets and high impact systems must use post-quantum digital signatures.
Who is affected: US federal agencies, starting with high value assets and high impact systems.
31 December 2031
Upcoming
United States · NSA CNSA 2.0
CNSA 2.0 algorithms are mandated for US national security systems.
Who is affected: Owners of US national security systems and the vendors that supply them.
By 2031
Upcoming
United Kingdom · NCSC
The NCSC expects organisations to have completed their highest-priority migration activities.
Who is affected: UK organisations, mainly large organisations, critical national infrastructure operators and companies with bespoke IT. This is guidance, not law.
2035: full migration
After 2035
Upcoming
Standards · NIST IR 8547
NIST IR 8547 disallows quantum-vulnerable public-key algorithms under NIST standards and guidelines.
Who is affected: Anyone who follows NIST standards, including federal systems and their suppliers.
2035
Upcoming
United States · NSM-10 and OMB M-26-15
2035 remains the US goal for completing the federal migration, and the final phase of OMB M-26-15.
Who is affected: US federal agencies.
By 2035
Upcoming
United Kingdom · NCSC
The NCSC expects migration to be complete.
Who is affected: UK organisations, mainly large organisations, critical national infrastructure operators and companies with bespoke IT. This is guidance, not law.
By 2035
Upcoming
European Union · NIS Cooperation Group roadmap
The EU roadmap expects medium-risk use cases to be migrated and low-risk use cases to follow as far as feasible.
Who is affected: EU Member States and their national authorities.
PQC milestones already passed
2022: the United States sets 2035 as the goal
4 May 2022
Passed
United States · White House
National Security Memorandum 10 sets the goal of mitigating as much quantum risk as feasible by 2035.
Who is affected: US federal agencies.
18 November 2022
Passed
United States · OMB M-23-02
OMB Memorandum M-23-02 requires federal agencies to submit a prioritised inventory of cryptographic systems vulnerable to a quantum computer, first by 4 May 2023 and then every year until 2035.
Who is affected: US federal agencies.
21 December 2022
Passed
United States · Congress
The Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act (Public Law 117-260) becomes law. It requires agencies to maintain an inventory of quantum-vulnerable systems and directs OMB to issue migration guidance once NIST publishes post-quantum standards.
Who is affected: US federal agencies.
2024: the first post-quantum standards
11 April 2024
Passed
European Union · European Commission
The European Commission adopts Recommendation (EU) 2024/1101, asking Member States to develop a coordinated approach to post-quantum cryptography.
Who is affected: EU Member States and their national authorities.
13 August 2024
Passed
Standards · NIST
NIST publishes its first three post-quantum standards: FIPS 203 (ML-KEM) for key establishment, and FIPS 204 (ML-DSA) and FIPS 205 (SLH-DSA) for digital signatures.
Who is affected: Anyone who follows NIST standards, including federal systems and their suppliers.
2025: Europe and the UK publish timelines
17 January 2025
Passed
European Union · DORA
The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) applies to financial entities. Its technical standards require an encryption policy that provides for updating cryptographic technology in response to developments in cryptanalysis. DORA does not set a post-quantum deadline.
Who is affected: EU financial entities.
20 March 2025
Passed
United Kingdom · NCSC
The UK National Cyber Security Centre publishes migration timelines, with milestones in 2028, 2031 and 2035. This is guidance, not law.
Who is affected: UK organisations, mainly large organisations, critical national infrastructure operators and companies with bespoke IT. This is guidance, not law.
June 2025
Passed
European Union · NIS Cooperation Group
The EU NIS Cooperation Group publishes a coordinated implementation roadmap for Member States, with milestones in 2026, 2030 and 2035.
Who is affected: EU Member States and their national authorities.
2026: US deadlines become binding for federal agencies
12 January 2026
Passed
Financial sector · G7 Cyber Expert Group
The G7 Cyber Expert Group publishes a roadmap to help the financial sector coordinate its transition to post-quantum cryptography.
Who is affected: The financial sector.
22 June 2026
Passed
United States · Executive Order 14412
Executive Order 14412 sets deadlines for the most sensitive federal systems and asks each agency to name a post-quantum migration lead.
Who is affected: US federal agencies.
24 June 2026
Passed
United States · OMB M-26-15
OMB Memorandum M-26-15 sets out how agencies execute the migration in five phases, and gives each agency 120 days to submit a migration plan.
Who is affected: US federal agencies.
27 October 2026
Passed
Standards · NIST IR 8547
NIST publishes the final version of NIST IR 8547, its transition schedule for quantum-vulnerable algorithms.
Who is affected: Anyone who follows NIST standards, including federal systems and their suppliers.
Quantum compliance outside government
Few of these documents place direct obligations on private companies. In practice, they shape what customers, regulators and partners ask for. Across the roadmaps, the first steps are the same:
Build an inventory of where and how you use cryptography, including in third-party software and services.
Prioritise systems that protect data with a long confidentiality life, and the signatures that your operations depend on.
Plan the migration, test post-quantum algorithms, and talk to your suppliers about their own timelines.
Keep evidence of what you have reviewed and decided, so you can answer questions from auditors, customers and investors.
PQC deadlines: frequently asked questions
What is the post-quantum cryptography timeline?
The US aims to complete its federal migration by 2035, with the most sensitive federal systems moving to post-quantum key establishment by 31 December 2030 and post-quantum signatures by 31 December 2031. The UK NCSC sets milestones for 2028, 2031 and 2035, and the EU roadmap sets milestones for 2026, 2030 and 2035. NIST deprecates quantum-vulnerable algorithms after 2030 and disallows them after 2035.
What is the NIST PQC timeline?
NIST published its first three post-quantum standards, FIPS 203, 204 and 205, on 13 August 2024. NIST IR 8547, finalised on 27 October 2026, deprecates quantum-vulnerable public-key algorithms such as RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography after 2030 and disallows them after 2035.
What is the CNSA 2.0 timeline?
For US national security systems, the NSA expects new equipment to be CNSA 2.0 compliant from 1 January 2027, equipment that cannot support CNSA 2.0 to be phased out by 31 December 2030, and CNSA 2.0 algorithms to be mandated by 31 December 2031. The vendors that sell into these systems are affected as well as the agencies that run them.
What does the quantum executive order require?
Executive Order 14412 of 22 June 2026 asks each agency to name a post-quantum migration lead and sets deadlines of 31 December 2030 for post-quantum key establishment and 31 December 2031 for post-quantum signatures in high value assets and high impact systems. It also tells the FAR Council to propose a rule requiring covered federal contractors to comply with NIST’s FIPS, including the post-quantum algorithms, by 31 December 2030.
What does OMB M-23-02 require?
OMB Memorandum M-23-02 requires US federal agencies to submit a prioritised inventory of cryptographic systems vulnerable to a quantum computer, first by 4 May 2023 and then every year until 2035.
Is there a quantum compliance deadline for private companies?
Few of these documents bind private companies directly. The main exceptions are suppliers: vendors of equipment for US national security systems face the CNSA 2.0 dates, and covered federal contractors face the FAR rule proposed under Executive Order 14412. In the UK, the NCSC milestones are guidance rather than law. In the EU, DORA requires financial entities to keep their cryptography up to date but sets no post-quantum date. In practice, customers, regulators and auditors increasingly ask for evidence of a migration plan.
What is the NCSC PQC migration timeline?
The UK NCSC expects organisations to define their migration goals, discover the cryptography they depend on and build an initial plan by 2028, complete their highest-priority migrations by 2031 and finish migrating by 2035. It is guidance, not law.
When is Q-Day?
There is no official date. Q-Day is the informal name for the point at which a quantum computer can break today’s public-key cryptography, and none of the regulators on this page predicts when it will arrive. The deadlines exist because migration takes years and encrypted data can be captured now and decrypted later.
How QuantSec helps
QuantSec scans your defined scope and classifies the cryptography it finds, then issues a digitally signed report with attack-surface analytics and a prioritised migration plan. Our team can also work with yours on the migration itself, on-chain and off-chain. Get in touch to discuss your timeline.
Sources
Dates on this page were checked against the following primary sources on 28 October 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, Public Law 117-260
NIST post-quantum cryptography publications, including FIPS 203, 204 and 205
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1774 (DORA technical standards)
EU coordinated implementation roadmap for the transition to post-quantum cryptography
US Treasury: G7 Cyber Expert Group statement on the post-quantum roadmap
NIST IR 8547: Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards