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.