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

什么是 QTSP？为什么你的电子签名服务商必须列入欧盟信任清单

Philipp Stuppnik · Co-Founder & IP Strategy

2026年6月3日 7 分钟阅读最后更新 2026年9月8日

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In short

合格信任服务提供者（QTSP）是受欧盟成员国监管并列入该国信任清单的机构。只有 QTSP 才能签发具备法律推定效力的 eIDAS 合格电子签名。本文说明该核查哪些内容。

2025年4月，苏黎世一位专门从事知识产权的律师接到了一个意想不到的电话。她的客户是一家中型制药公司，向德国联邦法院提交了一份许可协议。对方对数字签名提出质疑：这是一家SaaS平台的高级电子签名，而非欧盟信任列表提供商的合格签名。法官要求客户的律师证明签名的有效性。他们无法做到。该协议作为基础文件被认定为不可受理。

这是大多数企业姗姗来迟才认识到的一个区别所带来的实际后果。并非所有数字签名在欧盟法律下具有相同的法律效力。消费者应用程序或SaaS签名工具创建的数字签名在密码学上可能是有效的，但除非由欧盟成员国国家信任列表上的合格信任服务提供商（QTSP）颁发，否则在欧盟法院面前不具有任何法律推定效力。

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