Legally valid in any case 

It’s easy to check a PDF signed with a QES online. You can use the official validator. The validity of all e-signature standards is also displayed in the PDF reader from Adobe Acrobat when you open a document. For this, the certificates need to be issued by members of the Adobe Approved Trust List. All of the TSPs used by Skribble are certified by Adobe. See Adobe Approved Trust List.

The signature certificate issued by a certified trust service provider is technically linked to the signed PDF document and confirms the validity of the signature. It contains a time stamp, which records the time of the signature, guarantees the integrity of the signed document (i.e. that no changes have been made to it since) and confirms the identity of the signer.

An internationally accepted and uniform standard, as is the case in the EU, does not exist. The requirements of electronic signatures in eIDAS are very high – many countries have therefore based their standards on eIDAS or enacted less stringent legislation. Companies using the e-signature in countries outside the EU/EEA should familiarise themselves with national legislation. Skribble can provide support if required. For more information, you can also visit our Help center.

A TSP is an independent provider of trust services that is regularly certified by the relevant country, e.g. Deutsche Telekom AG, Swisscom or A-Trust. Their role is essentially to establish a digital trust space on the internet. To this end, the TSP issues electronic certificates for signatures and websites in order to confirm their integrity and authorship. In the case of signatures, the TSP guarantees that no changes have been made to the document since it was signed and gives information on the identity of the signer – this way both the signing and inspecting parties can be sure of the authenticity of the signature.

The role of an identity provider (IDP) is to verify the identity of persons or companies on the internet to ensure secure transactions – this is done on different security levels. This type of provider offers services such as user authentication via single sign-on (SSO). In cases where security requirements are particularly high, they check the identity of users via mobile numbers or even via identification documents. Skribble outsources certain identity services for advanced (AES) and qualified electronic signatures (QES) to a trusted identity provider. In the case of QES, this provider checks the identity of the signer with an official ID on-site or online via video chat.

eIDAS, also known as Article No. 910/2014, is a legal regulation of the EU that has been in full force since 2016. The regulation creates a standardised legal basis for electronic identification and trust services that applies throughout the EU, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. eIDAS is not valid in Switzerland; instead, ZertES, a Swiss Federal law with very similar contents, applies.

The Swiss Federal Act on Electronic Signatures (ZertES) regulates the conditions under which trust service providers (TSPs) may use electronic signatures. ZertES defines the framework, including rights and obligations, for the provision of certification services by TSPs and is therefore the Swiss equivalent of the European eIDAS regulation.

Yes. These are issued by an official body of the EU or Switzerland. Click here for the Trust Service Providers (TSPs) certified by the EU and click here for the Trust Service Providers (TSPs) certified by Switzerland.

This varies greatly from country to country – national laws such as the Civil Code (BGB) in Germany or the Code of Obligations (OR) in Switzerland are authoritative here. When it comes to selecting the e-signature standard, however, you should consult with a competent legal person in each specific scenario.