What is a QTSP under eIDAS?

A QTSP (Qualified Trust Service Provider) is an organisation that has been audited and approved by a national supervisory body in an EU member state to issue qualified trust services under the eIDAS Regulation. QTSPs are listed on national Trusted Lists, which are published under Article 22 of eIDAS. Qualified trust services include qualified electronic signatures, qualified electronic seals, and qualified electronic timestamps. Only a QTSP can issue a qualified timestamp that carries the legal presumption of Art. 41(2). That means accurate date and time, admissible in all EU courts without further proof. Swiss Trust Layer partners with a QTSP on the EU Trusted List to issue eIDAS-equivalent qualified electronic timestamps.

How is a QTSP different from a regular electronic signature provider?

Any software company can offer electronic signatures. A click-to-sign service or email confirmation technically constitutes a simple electronic signature under eIDAS Art. 3(10). A QTSP, by contrast, has been subject to conformity assessment by an accredited auditor and listed on an EU national Trusted List. This means QTSP-issued services carry specific legal presumptions under eIDAS: qualified signatures are presumed equivalent to handwritten signatures (Art. 25), qualified seals presumptively protect document integrity (Art. 35), and qualified timestamps presumptively prove the date and time of data (Art. 41). Non-QTSP providers cannot offer these legal presumptions regardless of their technology.

Does Switzerland have its own equivalent of a QTSP?

Yes. Under ZertES (SR 943.03), Switzerland has an accreditation system for Recognised Certification Services (Anerkannte Zertifizierungsdienste / Services de certification reconnus). The Swiss regulatory body (OFCOM/BAKOM) accredits these providers under a framework equivalent to the EU's QTSP regime. Swiss-issued qualified electronic timestamps from a recognised provider carry legal weight under Swiss law. Swiss Trust Layer uses a service provider recognised under both ZertES and eIDAS-equivalent standards, ensuring timestamps are valid in both Switzerland and EU member states.

Where can I find the official EU Trusted List of QTSPs?

The European Commission maintains the official EU Trusted Lists Browser at the European Commission's Trust Services Dashboard. Each EU member state publishes its own national Trusted List, and the Commission aggregates these into a single machine-readable list. You can search by country and service type (electronic signature, seal, timestamp) to find QTSPs for any specific need. For Switzerland, BAKOM (Federal Office of Communications) maintains the list of recognised certification services. Only providers on these lists can issue qualified trust services under eIDAS or ZertES.

What happens if I use a non-QTSP timestamp service for IP protection?

A timestamp from a non-QTSP service is a simple or advanced electronic timestamp. It may be technically accurate but does not carry the legal presumption of eIDAS Art. 41(2). This means that if you rely on it in a court proceeding, the other party can challenge its accuracy and you must prove the timestamp's reliability with additional evidence. Non-QTSP services also vary widely in how they store audit trails and whether they can produce evidence that would survive legal scrutiny. For IP protection, where your goal is to prove creation date in a future dispute, only a QTSP-issued qualified timestamp provides an unchallenged legal presumption.

Standards Compliance

O que é um QTSP? Por que o seu prestador de assinatura deve constar da lista da UE

Philipp Stuppnik · Co-Founder & IP Strategy

3 de junho de 2026 7 min de leituraÚltima atualização 8 de setembro de 2026

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In short

Um Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) é uma entidade supervisionada por um Estado-Membro da UE e inscrita na lista de confiança nacional. Só os QTSP podem emitir assinaturas eletrônicas qualificadas eIDAS com presunção legal. Veja o que verificar.

Em abril de 2025, uma advogada especializada em propriedade intelectual sediada em Zurique recebeu uma chamada que nao esperava. O seu cliente, uma empresa farmaceutica de medio porte, tinha submetido um acordo de licenca a um tribunal federal alemao. A contraparte contestou a assinatura digital: era uma assinatura eletronica avancada de uma plataforma SaaS, nao uma assinatura qualificada de um prestador inscrito na lista de confianca da UE. O juiz pediu ao advogado do cliente que provasse a validade da assinatura. Nao conseguiram. O acordo foi considerado inadmissivel como documento constitutivo.

Esta e a consequencia pratica de uma distincao que a maioria das empresas aprende tarde demais. Nem todas as assinaturas digitais tem o mesmo peso juridico ao abrigo do direito da UE. Uma assinatura digital criada por uma aplicacao de consumo ou uma ferramenta de assinatura SaaS pode ser criptograficamente valida, mas nao beneficia de qualquer presuncao legal perante os tribunais da UE se nao tiver sido emitida por um Prestador de Servicos de Confianca Qualificado (QTSP) inscrito na lista de confianca nacional de um Estado-Membro da UE.

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