Question 1

What is signature validity risk?

Accepted Answer

Signature validity risk is the chance that a signed contract can be challenged on the grounds that the signature is not legally sufficient for that type of document. Basic e-signatures and wet-ink scans carry more of this risk on formal or high-value documents than a qualified electronic signature, which carries handwritten-equivalence under the law.

Question 2

How is the value at validity risk calculated?

Accepted Answer

The checker multiplies your contracts per month by twelve and by the average contract value to get your annual signed value, then applies an illustrative risk factor based on your signing method. Basic e-signatures use a higher factor than wet-ink because they are more often questioned on formal documents. Qualified signatures return zero, since they already carry handwritten-equivalence. All outputs are illustrative estimates, not legal advice.

Question 3

Is a basic e-signature legally valid?

Accepted Answer

A basic or simple electronic signature can be valid for many everyday agreements, but for documents that require a specific form, or that are likely to be disputed, it may not carry the same evidentiary weight as a qualified electronic signature. Under eIDAS, only a qualified electronic signature has the legal effect equivalent to a handwritten signature.

Question 4

What is a qualified electronic signature (QES)?

Accepted Answer

A qualified electronic signature is created with a qualified certificate issued by an accredited Qualified Trust Service Provider under eIDAS Article 25 or ZertES. It is the only signature type that carries the legal effect equivalent to a handwritten signature across the EU, and under Swiss law it meets the handwritten-equivalence set out in the Code of Obligations Article 14 paragraph 2bis.

Question 5

Does qualified signing remove all risk?

Accepted Answer

Qualified signing addresses the signature-validity question by giving your signature handwritten-equivalence. It is still good practice to keep an independent timestamp and proof-of-existence record for each document, so you can also show when a version existed and that it was not altered afterwards.

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