Qualified electronic signatures (QES): when an e-signature equals a handwritten one

What QES means

QES is the highest electronic signature level under eIDAS. It ties the signatory to a qualified certificate and to a secure signature creation device, which is why it suits documents where the identity of the signatory and the integrity of the file both have to be provable later.

In Tvarka, QES is what signs PDF, ADOC and ASiC-E documents, and what is used wherever the product has to file a document or a declaration on your behalf.

When you genuinely need it

Choose QES when the document goes to a public authority, when it has a long legal life, or when an argument about who signed it would be expensive.

In ordinary business that usually means contracts, powers of attorney, shareholder and member resolutions, tax and social insurance forms, filings with the Centre of Registers (Registrų centras), and approval of financial documents.

• A PDF with a PAdES signature suits everyday business documents.
• ADOC is the format Lithuanian public authorities ask for most often.
• ASiC-E suits several files at once and counterparties elsewhere in the EU.

Recognition across the EU

A qualified signature is not a national arrangement. Under eIDAS a qualified electronic signature based on a qualified certificate issued in one Member State is recognised as a qualified electronic signature in every other Member State.

That is what makes the qualified tier worth the extra step for cross-border work: the receiving side does not have to accept the conventions of your country, only the standard.