diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index c2979f2..4728cfc 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -16,6 +16,8 @@ to 0.3.0 are beta releases.
 
 ### Changed
 - MSRV is now 1.70.0.
+- Encryption to an identity now uses the preferred recipient type supported for
+  that identity.
 
 ## [0.5.0] - 2024-08-04
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/src/key.rs b/src/key.rs
index 4e1375e..1714532 100644
--- a/src/key.rs
+++ b/src/key.rs
@@ -20,7 +20,9 @@ use yubikey::{
 
 use crate::{
     error::Error,
-    fl, piv_p256,
+    fl,
+    native::p256tag,
+    piv_p256,
     recipient::TAG_BYTES,
     util::{otp_serial_prefix, Metadata},
     Recipient, IDENTITY_PREFIX,
@@ -592,9 +594,10 @@ impl Stub {
         let (cert, pk) = match Certificate::read(&mut yubikey, SlotId::Retired(self.slot))
             .ok()
             .and_then(|cert| {
-                piv_p256::Recipient::from_certificate(&cert)
-                    .filter(|pk| pk.tag() == self.tag)
-                    .map(|pk| (cert, Recipient::PivP256(pk)))
+                // Parse as the preferred recipient for each identity type.
+                p256tag::Recipient::from_certificate(&cert)
+                    .filter(|pk| pk.static_tag() == self.tag)
+                    .map(|pk| (cert, Recipient::P256Tag(pk)))
             }) {
             Some(pk) => pk,
             None => {
@@ -628,6 +631,7 @@ pub(crate) struct Connection {
 }
 
 impl Connection {
+    /// Returns the preferred recipient for encrypting to this identity.
     pub(crate) fn recipient(&self) -> &Recipient {
         &self.pk
     }
diff --git a/src/native/p256tag.rs b/src/native/p256tag.rs
index beb3cde..ad94675 100644
--- a/src/native/p256tag.rs
+++ b/src/native/p256tag.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ use p256::{
     EncodedPoint,
 };
 use rand::rngs::OsRng;
+use yubikey::{certificate::PublicKeyInfo, Certificate};
 
 use super::{stanza_tag, YubiKeyKemPrivateKey};
 use crate::{
@@ -84,6 +85,33 @@ impl Recipient {
         })
     }
 
+    pub(crate) fn from_certificate(cert: &Certificate) -> Option<Self> {
+        Self::from_spki(cert.subject_pki())
+    }
+
+    pub(crate) fn from_spki(spki: &PublicKeyInfo) -> Option<Self> {
+        let encoded = match spki {
+            PublicKeyInfo::EcP256(pubkey) => Some(pubkey),
+            _ => None,
+        }?;
+
+        // Check that the certificate encoding is uncompressed.
+        let pk_recip = <Kem as hpke::Kem>::PublicKey::from_bytes(encoded.as_bytes()).ok()?;
+
+        let point = p256::PublicKey::from_encoded_point(encoded).into_option()?;
+        let compressed = point.to_encoded_point(true);
+
+        Some(Self {
+            compressed,
+            pk_recip,
+        })
+    }
+
+    /// Returns the compressed SEC-1 encoding of this recipient.
+    pub(crate) fn to_compressed(&self) -> p256::EncodedPoint {
+        self.compressed
+    }
+
     pub(crate) fn static_tag(&self) -> [u8; TAG_BYTES] {
         static_tag(self.compressed.as_bytes())
     }
diff --git a/src/piv_p256.rs b/src/piv_p256.rs
index 17e05c8..26873d4 100644
--- a/src/piv_p256.rs
+++ b/src/piv_p256.rs
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ impl Recipient {
 
         let shared_secret = esk.diffie_hellman(self.public_key());
 
-        let salt = salt(&epk_bytes, self);
+        let salt = salt(&epk_bytes, self.to_encoded());
 
         let enc_key = {
             let mut okm = [0; 32];
@@ -138,13 +138,17 @@ impl Recipient {
 
 impl RecipientLine {
     pub(crate) fn unwrap_file_key(&self, conn: &mut Connection) -> Result<FileKey, ()> {
-        let recipient = match conn.recipient() {
-            crate::recipient::Recipient::PivP256(recipient) => recipient,
-            _ => panic!("should have been filtered out earlier"),
+        let (static_tag, pk) = match conn.recipient() {
+            crate::recipient::Recipient::PivP256(recipient) => {
+                (recipient.tag(), recipient.to_encoded())
+            }
+            crate::recipient::Recipient::P256Tag(recipient) => {
+                (recipient.static_tag(), recipient.to_compressed())
+            }
         };
-        assert_eq!(self.tag, recipient.tag());
+        assert_eq!(self.tag, static_tag);
 
-        let salt = salt(&self.epk_bytes, recipient);
+        let salt = salt(&self.epk_bytes, pk);
 
         // The YubiKey API for performing scalar multiplication takes the point in its
         // uncompressed SEC-1 encoding.
@@ -165,9 +169,10 @@ impl RecipientLine {
     }
 }
 
-fn salt(epk_bytes: &EphemeralKeyBytes, pk: &Recipient) -> Vec<u8> {
+fn salt(epk_bytes: &EphemeralKeyBytes, pk: p256::EncodedPoint) -> Vec<u8> {
+    assert!(pk.is_compressed());
     let mut salt = vec![];
     salt.extend_from_slice(epk_bytes.as_bytes());
-    salt.extend_from_slice(pk.to_encoded().as_bytes());
+    salt.extend_from_slice(pk.as_bytes());
     salt
 }