Thomas Moretti, axelity ag
Co-founder and Managing Director of axelity ag | Product strategist of the Swiss signing solution actaSIGN®
Qualified Electronic Signature (QES): When You Really Need It
The qualified electronic signature (QES) is the highest level of the electronic signature — and the only one legally equivalent to a handwritten signature. But as valuable as that equivalence is: for the majority of business documents, QES is not actually required. If you sign every document with a QES, you make your processes unnecessarily cumbersome; if you skip the QES where the law demands it, you risk the contract being invalid. This article shows when you really need QES — and when you don't.
What is a QES?
Both the Swiss ZertES and the EU eIDAS regulation define three signature levels: the simple (SES), the advanced (AES) and the qualified electronic signature (QES). QES differs from the other two levels in three respects:
- Qualified certificate: The signature is based on a certificate issued by a recognised trust service provider — in Switzerland, for example, Swisscom Trust Services, recognised by OFCOM.
- One-time personal identification: Before your first QES you must prove your identity, for example via the Mobile ID app.
- Strong two-factor authentication: Every single signature is personally released by the signer.
The effort serves a purpose: QES offers the highest evidential value. In a dispute, the burden of proof lies with the party contesting the authenticity of the signature — not with the party relying on it.
Equivalent to a handwritten signature — the legal situation
Switzerland: Under CO Art. 14 para. 2bis, the qualified electronic signature — combined with a qualified timestamp — is equivalent to a handwritten signature. ZertES governs which providers may issue qualified certificates.
EU: The eIDAS regulation assigns QES the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. In addition, a QES created in one EU member state must be recognised in all other member states.
Between Switzerland and the EU there is no automatic mutual recognition yet. In practice, companies solve this via trust service providers recognised under both frameworks — Swisscom Trust Services is on the EU Trust List and at the same time recognised by OFCOM. You can find details on the legal situation in your market on our country pages for Switzerland and Germany.
When is QES legally required?
QES is mandatory wherever the law demands written form for a transaction and that form is to be fulfilled electronically.
Typical cases in Switzerland:
- Consumer credit agreements (CCA Art. 9)
- Corporate resolutions and powers of attorney subject to written-form requirements
- Documents subject to audit requirements
- Submissions to authorities, where an electronic channel is provided
Typical cases in Germany: Under BGB §126a, the electronic form only replaces the statutory written form if the document is signed with a QES. Caution: for certain documents the law excludes the electronic form entirely — for example the termination of employment relationships (BGB §623). Our article on HR documents in Germany shows which HR documents require which signature level.
Beyond that, there are good reasons to use QES voluntarily: for contracts with a high amount in dispute, in regulated industries, or when the counterparty expects maximum evidential value.
When is QES more than you need?
In Switzerland, freedom of contract applies as a matter of principle: most contracts are valid without any formal requirement — in theory they could even be concluded verbally. For these documents, an SES or AES is sufficient:
- Offers, orders and order confirmations
- NDAs, supply and framework agreements
- Most employment contracts and HR documents
- Internal approvals and minutes
The rule of thumb: the higher the economic risk and the stricter the formal requirement, the higher the signature level. You can find a detailed comparison of the three levels in our article on the difference between SES, AES and QES.
Where even QES is not enough
QES replaces the written form — but not stricter formal requirements:
- Surety declarations require a handwritten signature and the handwritten indication of the maximum amount (CO Art. 493).
- Real estate purchase agreements require notarisation (CO Art. 216).
- Holographic wills must be written entirely by hand (CC Art. 505).
How to create a QES
With actaSIGN, the path to QES has two phases:
- One-time identification: You prove your identity to Swisscom Trust Services — for example via the Mobile ID app. You can find instructions in our help article on QES identification with Mobile ID.
- Signing in the browser: After that, you sign every document with a QES — releasing each signature via two-factor authentication, without installation, directly in the browser. Our Sign PDF page shows what this looks like in practice.
QES with actaSIGN — no surcharge logic
actaSIGN supports all three signature levels on one platform: you choose per document whether SES, AES or QES — and combine several levels in one signing process if needed. Signatures run via Swisscom Trust Services and can therefore be created compliant with both ZertES and eIDAS. Pricing stays transparent: all-inclusive from CHF 11 per month.