What is a qualified electronic signature (QES)?

What makes a signature qualified?

eIDAS recognizes three levels: simple (SES), advanced (AES) and qualified (QES). A QES is an advanced signature created with a qualified signature creation device and based on a qualified certificate from a QTSP. Under Article 25, a QES has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature, and a QES based on a qualified certificate issued in one member state is recognized as a QES in every other member state.

When do you need one?

Most agreements do not. QES matters when a law, a regulator, or the other party to a contract asks for the highest level. Which documents need which level in which country is a question for your customer's counsel. The requests we hear come from platforms whose customers sign with people in Europe, mostly in insurance, legal and financial services.

How does it work for the signer?

The signer opens the document in your product and completes their fields as usual. When they sign, they choose their country and a qualified provider without leaving the Verdocs signing view, then confirm their identity with that provider: their national ID card, a mobile ID app, or a remote identity check through the provider's app. The qualified signature is applied and they finish in Verdocs. You get back a signed PDF that carries the qualified signature, with the Verdocs certificate and full audit trail.

Where can signers use it?

Every method below gives a QES. Signers can use their own national eID where their country has one, and the cross-border providers cover the rest of Europe.

The most popular eIDs in Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden give an advanced signature, not a qualified one. Signers there who need a QES can use Evrotrust or ZealiD. Evrotrust and ZealiD coverage follows eID Easy's published method list.

Does the document leave Verdocs?

No. We built QES on eID Easy, which connects one integration to many QTSPs and national eID schemes. eID Easy never receives the document: Verdocs sends only a cryptographic fingerprint (a hash) of the file, and the qualified signature is applied to the document in Verdocs.

What does it cost?

$5.00 per signature, the same for every provider and country, charged only when the signature completes, so a failed or abandoned attempt costs nothing. It is available on paid plans and activated for your account on request, with no setup fee.

How do developers turn it on?

It is set per signer, from the API or the web app, so one document can mix it with signers who use a standard signature. We activate it for your account on request, and you can run the full flow in your own account before you go live. Start with the developer documentation, and talk to us when you are ready to switch it on.