eIDAS
Europe's e-signature regulation and its three trust levels — SES, AES, and QES. We'll tell you which one most documents actually need (spoiler: usually the simplest).
eIDAS — EU Regulation 910/2014— is the European Union's framework for electronic identification and trust services. It makes electronic signatures legally valid across all member states and defines three levels of assurance: Simple (SES), Advanced (AES), and Qualified (QES). The honest headline: most consumer and business documents only ever need a Simple Electronic Signature.
This is general information, not legal advice.
The three levels of eIDAS
Same regulation, three tiers of assurance. More rigor as you go up — and more friction too.
SES — Simple Electronic Signature
The baseline: data in electronic form attached to or logically associated with other data, used to sign. A typed name, a drawn signature, or a click. Perfectly fine for the large majority of everyday B2C and business agreements.
AES — Advanced Electronic Signature
Adds rigor: uniquely linked to the signer, capable of identifying them, created with data the signer controls, and linked to the document so any later change is detectable. Used where you need stronger assurance.
QES — Qualified Electronic Signature
The top tier: an AES created with a qualified signature-creation device and backed by a qualified certificate from a qualified trust service provider (QTSP). A QES is automatically the legal equal of a handwritten signature across the entire EU.
An honest word on which level you need
It's tempting for vendors to imply you need the fanciest, most expensive signature level for everything. You usually don't. Under Article 25 of eIDAS, a signature can't be denied legal effect just because it's “only” a Simple Electronic Signature — a court can give an SES full evidential weight based on the surrounding context and audit trail.
For the documents most people sign, an SES is the right tool:
- Service agreements, statements of work, and quotes
- NDAs and confidentiality agreements
- Rental and lease agreements
- Consent and intake forms
- Offer letters and most HR paperwork
AES makes sense when you need a signature uniquely linked to the signer and tamper-detection baked into the signature itself. QES is for the specific, higher-stakes, or regulated cases where the law (or a counterparty) explicitly requires the handwritten-equivalent guarantee that only a qualified device and certificate from a QTSP provide.
Where eIDAS meets U.S. law
eIDAS is the EU's counterpart to the U.S. ESIGN Act and UETA. Same big idea — electronic signatures are valid — expressed through a regional framework. sign.pink is eIDAS-aligned: every document gets a tamper-evident audit trail with timestamps and identity verification, the evidence that gives an SES its weight.
eIDAS 2.0, briefly
The 2024 update commonly called eIDAS 2.0 modernizes the framework — most visibly by introducing the European Digital Identity Wallet for citizens and businesses. Importantly for signing, it keeps the same three levels — SES, AES, and QES — so nothing about choosing the right signature for an everyday document has changed.
eIDAS FAQ
eIDAS is the EU's regulation on electronic identification and trust services — Regulation (EU) No 910/2014. It creates a single legal framework for electronic signatures, seals, timestamps, and related trust services across all EU member states, so a signature recognized in one country is recognized in the others.
eIDAS-aligned signing for €3/month — or free.
No credit card to start. No envelope limits. No surprises.