What is eIDAS?

The EU regulation that defines three legal tiers of electronic signature — Simple (SES), Advanced (AdES), and Qualified (QES).

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 — eIDAS (electronic IDentification, Authentication and trust Services) — is the EU legal framework that recognizes electronic signatures across member states. It defines three tiers: Simple Electronic Signature (SES) for everyday contracts, Advanced Electronic Signature (AdES) for higher assurance, and Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) — which carries the same legal weight as a handwritten signature in every EU member state. The UK adopted a near-identical regime post-Brexit (UK eIDAS).

The three tiers

SES is any eSignature with no specific identity requirements — a click, a typed name, an uploaded image. AdES adds uniqueness to the signer, signer-control of the signing key, and tamper-detection. QES is AdES backed by a Qualified Certificate issued by an EU-listed Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP), with the signing key stored on a secure cryptographic device.

When QES is required

Most B2B contracts in the EU are valid with SES. QES is reserved for transactions where written form is required by law — certain real-estate, family-law, and notarized acts. For corporate signing 95%+ of use cases work with SES or AdES.

How PDF Verified handles eIDAS

PDF Verified SES is the default — captured signature + timestamp + IP + SHA-256 hash + audit trail. AdES is available on Business Plus via our TSP partner. QES requires identity verification via a QTSP and is available on Enterprise.