Legalesign now supports Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) via Digidentity

We’re excited to announce a major upgrade to Legalesign’s signing capabilities: users can now choose Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) or Pdf Advanced Electronic Signature (PAdES) via Digidentity, in addition to our existing Advanced Electronic Signatures (AdES). This gives your documents the highest level of electronic signature assurance in the EU & UK.

What is a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES)?

A Qualified Electronic Signature is the most stringent and secure form of electronic signature under the eIDAS regulation (EU No 910/2014), and its UK equivalents. Key things to know:

• It is legally equivalent to a handwritten (wet ink) signature across all EU member states and recognised under UK law. 

• It uses a qualified certificate issued by a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP). 

• It must be created with a Qualified Signature Creation Device (QSCD) — a secure “device” (hardware / software environment) that ensures the integrity and confidentiality of the signature process. In this case, Digidentity's App.

• Before signing, the signer’s identity is verified through stricter processes: identity documents, often biometric checks, sometimes via video or live verification. 

• Click here to read more about eSignature tech.

Why QES matters & when to use it

Adding support for QES opens up new possibilities and stronger guarantees:

1. Stronger Legal Assurance

   Because QES signatures carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones, documents signed this way stand up more robustly in court or legal/regulatory scrutiny. For high-stakes contracts, government filings, regulated industries, or cross-border agreements, that extra assurance can matter a lot. 

2. Tamper-resistance and document integrity

   The certificate + verification steps make QES signatures harder to challenge, forge or tamper with. The document’s chain of trust is more secure. Read more about tamper-proofing with PDF Certification.

3. Cross-border and regulatory recognition

   Because QES is covered under EU / eIDAS regulation, documents signed with it are automatically recognised across EU member states (and under UK’s retained laws) without having to worry about whether a signature type is valid in a particular country. 

4. Eliminating witnessing / attestation burdens

   In many cases where law or process requires a wet-ink signature or physical witness, a QES may allow you to fulfill equivalent legal form without the physical hassles. This can speed up signing, reduce cost, and simplify workflows. 

How Legalesign + Digidentity implements QES

Here’s how it works in practice with Legalesign:

• When you prepare a document for signing, you’ll add a signature field to your document in the usual way with drag and drop.

• The signer downloads the Digidentity App and goes through an identity verification process as required by EU standards. 

• Once verified, Digidentity issues a qualified certificate.

• Upon arriving at the document to sign on Legalesign, the signatory is presented with the option to sign with QES or PAdES.

• The signatory opens their Digidentity app, scans the bar code presented on Legalesign and follows the instructions to sign.

• Legalesign receives notification when the document is QES signed and the signatory is presented with the signed document to download.

• If there are more signatories, the signatory will be notified when the document is completed and be able to download the final QES signed document.

• Legalesign stores the document, signature metadata, audit trail etc., so you can demonstrate authenticity and integrity later if needed.

What this means for existing users & use cases

With QES now available, some changes / enhancements to how you use Legalesign:

• Choice of signature level: For many documents, AdES (Advanced Electronic Signature) may still be enough. QES is there when you need that “legal maximum” assurance.

• More use-cases unlocked: High-value contracts, financial disclosures, legal agreements, regulated-industry documents, public procurement, etc. — these now can be executed via Legalesign with full legal confidence.

• Faster remote workflows: Even without needing physical presence, you can get legally strong signatures, which helps when dealing with remote signatories, cross-border transactions or tight deadlines.

Why we partnered with Digidentity

We chose Digidentity because:

• They are a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) under eIDAS and appear on the trusted lists. 

• Their identity verification methods are robust and user-friendly (photo-ID, possibly biometric checks, remote verification), balancing legal assurance with good usability. 

• Their processes and infrastructure satisfy the security, compliance and auditability needed for QES.

• They offer highly competitive and attractive pricing that makes QES practical for any UK business seeking the highest confidence in their signed document.

Getting started

If you’d like to use QES via Legalesign:

1. Log in / sign up to Legalesign and choose Digidentity QES when preparing your signature request.

2. Ensure signatories are ready with valid identity documents, possibly including government photo ID, passport, etc.

3. Follow the verification prompts from Digidentity.

4. Once signed, open the PDF in Adobe PDF Reader and examine the Signature Panel to confirm the QES has been applied.

   Click here to see the Video Explainer.

In summary

We believe adding Digidentity QES to Legalesign marks a step-change in what our platform can offer: legally stronger signatures, broader compliance, and new use cases unlocked. Whether you’re a legal firm, financial institution, or any organisation dealing with high-value or heavily regulated documents, QES gives you confidence that your documents are as legally valid and secure as possible.

Thank you for using Legalesign. As always we welcome your feedback on any matter, click here to contact us.