Deep Dive Series

Global PQC Migration Timelines

Updated 10 October 2026

The question I hear most often is “when do we need to migrate to post-quantum cryptography?” The answer depends on who is asking and where they operate. There is no single global PQC deadline. There are dozens, set by governments, regulators, supervisors and standards bodies, on different timelines, with different algorithm requirements and different positions on hybrid cryptography. The United States now requires PQC key establishment on its most important federal systems by the end of 2030 and PQC signatures by the end of 2031. Australia wants traditional asymmetric cryptography retired by the end of 2030. Germany’s BSI stops recommending classical key agreement on its own after 2031, or after 2030 for the most sensitive applications. Singapore wants its critical infrastructure migrated by the end of 2031. The UK says 2035. CNSA 2.0 runs its own product-category schedule from 2025 to 2033.

This Deep Dive series maps PQC migration deadlines across 24 jurisdictions, plus the G7, NATO and the main financial and industry bodies. It traces where the timelines converge and where they conflict, and it provides the cross-cutting analysis that individual country articles cannot: which deadlines bind, where the compliance gaps are for multinationals, and what the 54 dated milestones between October 2026 and the end of 2030 mean for organizations that have not started. The capstone article provides the strategic synthesis, the thematic pieces address the hardest cross-jurisdictional questions, and the jurisdiction articles go deep on each country’s requirements.

Interactive Tool

Global PQC Migration Timeline →

More than 150 milestones from this Deep Dive on one filterable timeline. Filter by region, sector or milestone type; every entry links to its analysis on PostQuantum.com or, where I have not covered it yet, to the primary source.

Analysis

Capstone

The Global PQC Migration Clock

The strategic synthesis: where 24 jurisdictions converge and conflict on dates, hybrid deployment, algorithms and enforcement, and what that means for an organization operating across borders.

The Hybrid Question: Why the World Can’t Agree on How to Deploy PQC

BSI and ANSSI recommend hybrid, and EU certification guidance strongly favors it for lattice-based schemes. The NSA, OMB, the NCSC and ASD treat it as a stopgap on the way to pure PQC. What a multinational should deploy in each market.

The 2026–2030 Squeeze: 54 PQC Milestones in 51 Months

From the US agency migration plans due in October 2026 to the 20 milestones of 2030: every dated PQC milestone set by a government, regulator, supervisor or alliance before 2031, in order, with what each requires.

Who Actually Enforces PQC Deadlines?

Most PQC deadlines are guidance, not law, and I have found no public record of a penalty over a PQC requirement yet. A five-tier map of the enforcement mechanisms, from market-access gates to advisory roadmaps.

One Quantum Threat, Many Migrations: How and Why PQC Programmes Are Diverging Around the World

Why national PQC programs follow four different patterns, from US procurement mandates to supervisor letters in the Gulf and Asia and sovereign algorithms in China and Korea.

US Federal PQC Mandate After June 2026: Complete Guide

How EO 14412, EO 14413, NSPM-12, the DoW PQC Strategy and OMB M-26-15 fit together, with an obligation matrix for civilian agencies, the Department of War, NSS and contractors.

Related Analysis

Forget Q-Day Predictions: Regulators, Insurers, Investors, Clients Are Your New Quantum Clock

The argument behind this Deep Dive: regulators, insurers, investors and clients set the dates that drive action, whatever the Q-Day predictions say.

Post-Quantum Deadlines Are Likely About to Compress. Here’s What I’m Seeing.

My May 2026 prediction that PQC deadlines would move earlier, written weeks before EO 14412 and Microsoft’s move from 2033 to 2029.

PQC Standards Fragmentation: What Multinationals Must Plan For Now

NIST, China’s NGCC, Korea’s KpqC and the European hybrid preference: planning for partial divergence.

Sovereignty in the PQC Era: Standards, Trust, and Crypto-Agility

Why countries make different algorithm and deployment choices, and what that means for the global migration.

NIS2, DORA, and the EU Post-Quantum Roadmap

How EU regulatory frameworks interact with PQC migration requirements.

Crypto-Agility Is the Goal. The PQC Migration Is Only Its First Test.