What is a ZertES qualified electronic seal?

A ZertES qualified electronic seal (QES) is an electronic seal applied by a legal entity using a qualified certificate issued by a Swiss trust service provider accredited under ZertES (SR 943.03). Under Swiss law (OR Art. 14 para. 2bis and ZertES Art. 2), a qualified seal meets the highest standard for organisational authentication and carries a legal presumption of authenticity in Swiss courts without additional proof.

How does a ZertES qualified seal differ from an advanced seal?

The key difference is the certificate. A qualified seal requires a qualified certificate from a ZertES-accredited Certification Service Provider (CSP) such as Swisscom Trust Services or QuoVadis. An advanced seal can use a certificate from a non-accredited provider. In court, a qualified seal carries a presumption of authenticity. The opposing party must prove it is invalid. An advanced seal is strong evidence but remains rebuttable without that presumption.

Is a ZertES qualified seal admissible as evidence in Swiss courts?

Yes. Under ZertES Art. 2 and the Swiss Civil Procedure Code, a qualified electronic seal is treated as legally equivalent to a physical company seal for organisational authentication. Swiss courts apply a presumption of authenticity: if the seal validates correctly against the accredited CSP, it is accepted as genuine unless the opposing party provides evidence to the contrary. No expert witness is required to establish authenticity.

How does ZertES compare to eIDAS for cross-border recognition?

ZertES and eIDAS are separate but functionally equivalent frameworks. ZertES applies to Switzerland, eIDAS to the EU. Switzerland is not an EU member, so eIDAS does not apply by default. However, the bilateral CH-EU agreement on mutual recognition of trust services means ZertES-qualified seals are generally accepted across the border. Providers such as Swisscom Trust Services are accredited under both frameworks, enabling a single seal to satisfy requirements in Swiss and EU jurisdictions.

How long does a ZertES qualified seal remain valid?

The cryptographic validity of a ZertES qualified seal depends on the certificate lifetime (typically 1-3 years) and the hash algorithm used. To ensure long-term validity beyond certificate expiry (for archival documents, contracts, or IP records), the seal must be re-stamped or upgraded using a long-term validation (LTV) profile that embeds certificate revocation status at signing time. This is standard practice under the PAdES-B-LT and PAdES-B-LTA profiles.

Standards Compliance

ZertES合格电子印章如何运作：技术与法律解析（2026）

Swiss Trust Layer Editorial Team · Legal Content

2026年6月12日 7 分钟阅读最后更新 2026年9月8日

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In short

ZertES合格电子印章是瑞士最高保证级别的数字印章，根据瑞士法律在法律效力上等同于手写印章。本文介绍其技术运作原理、何时为合格级与高级，以及与欧盟eIDAS的比较。

2024年9月，苏黎世一家SaaS公司收到了竞争对手发出的禁止令，对方声称对某软件模块享有在先所有权。公司法律团队在GitHub上保存了版本记录，但GitHub的时间戳属于自行声明，无法在瑞士司法程序中得到独立核实。商业登记文件仅载明公司成立日期，并未涉及该模块的开发历史。由于软件文档上没有合格印章，举证责任完全落在公司身上，需自行反驳竞争对手的主张，最终在争议解决前产生了23万瑞士法郎的法律费用。

ZertES合格电子印章（QES）是由法律实体依据ZertES（SR 943.03）获得认证的瑞士信任服务提供商签发的合格证书创建的电子印章。根据瑞士法律（《债法》第14条第2bis款及ZertES第2条），合格印章达到组织身份认证的最高法律标准，无需额外证明其真实性，即可在瑞士法院作为证据使用。

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