Qualified electronic signature

A qualified electronic signature is in accordance with Act no. 272/2016 Coll. an advanced electronic signature that is created using qualified equipment and is based on a qualified for electronic signatures certificate.

Thanks to a qualified electronic signature, it is possible to electronically perform legal acts that classically require a written form. Thus, a qualified electronic signature in this case replaces the written form of a handwritten signature.

Qualified electronic signature of electronic document provides:

• authenticity – the identity of the entity that created the signature can be unambiguously verified,
• integrity – it can be shown that there has been no intentional or unintentional change in the content of the document as it was at the time it was signed,
• indisputability – the author cannot claim that he has not made the given signature of the electronic document

The use of a qualified electronic signature is really wide. It can be used, for example, in communication with public authorities, in the services of the commercial or trade register, in communication with the financial administration of the Slovak Republic, courts, etc.

To obtain a qualified electronic signature, the following must be available:

• Electronic document,
• Private key stored on a secure device,
• Public key belonging to a private key for which a qualified certificate has been issued by an accredited certification authority,
• Means for making an electronic signature verified by the NSA SR.