Legal status: Advanced
Typical uses: Quotes, approvals, NDAs
Legal status: Qualified (eIDAS/ZertES)
Typical uses: Employment contracts, terminations, official documents
According to Art. 25 para. 2 of the eIDAS Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014, the qualified electronic signature is legally equivalent to the handwritten signature, provided that:
- a qualified certificate is used,
- the signature was created with a qualified signature creation device,
- a trusted provider (QTSP) according to eIDAS was used.
In Switzerland, the Federal Act on Electronic Signature (ZertES, SR 943.03) regulates the recognition of electronic signatures.
According to ZertES:
- A qualified electronic signature (QES) is equivalent to the handwritten signature according to Art. 14 para. 2bis OR.
- A certificate from a recognized provider of certification services (e.g. Swisscom Trust Services) must be used.
- The signature is made via a secure signature creation device (e.g. MobileID, smartcard, HSM).
Thanks to the use of signature providers like Skribble with EU & CH-compliant identity providers, QES can be used cross-border. Typical application areas:
- Employment and service contracts,
- Data processing agreements (DPA),
- Commercial contracts,
- HR-relevant documents with written form requirement
Download the data sheet in PDF format.