What is QES?
Qualified e-signature (QES) is the highest level of electronic signature recognized under EU law. It ensures that documents are signed securely, with identity verification handled by trusted local providers.
To complete the QES signing process, each recipient must:
Fill out and sign their assigned fields
Verify their identity using a qualified identity provider (IDP)
The process happens step by step, with each signer receiving clear instructions via email or SMS.
How to sign with QES
You’ll receive an email (or SMS) when it’s your turn to sign and verify a document with QES. The email will guide you through each step and show which ones have already been completed.
Sign the document. Open the document link and complete your assigned fields. Click Finish once done.
Wait (if needed). If you're not the last signer, you'll wait until everyone else finishes signing before verification begins.
Verify your identity. When it's your turn, you’ll see a modal window on the right where you’ll need to select a country and a provider and then verify your identity. Please note that different providers require different verification steps.
Note: The last signer skips the "Wait" step and moves straight to verification after signing.
4. Done! Once all recipients have verified their identities, the document is finalized, and you’ll be able to download the completed PDF.
Reminders and status updates
If you’re the last recipient in the signing order, you’ll receive automatic reminders by email or SMS if you don’t verify your identity within 15 minutes after signing. Other recipients will be invited to verify their identity based on the signing order.
Each email you receive will clearly show the remaining steps. Completed steps will appear crossed out for easy tracking.
Important notes
You must complete all required fields before starting identity verification.
QES requires a strict signing order: recipients verify their identity one by one. Keep in mind that the QES order is not the same as the signing order. While it’s based on the signing order, the last recipient becomes the first in the QES identity verification process.
You cannot forward the signature request or sign on behalf of someone else.
The final signed PDF is generated only after all recipients have completed QES verification.
Choosing your identity provider
PandaDoc supports a wide range of local and EU-wide identity providers. You'll choose one based on your country.
Method
Method | Coverage |
Smart-ID | EE, LV, LT, FI, BE |
Estonian Mobile-ID | EE |
Lithuanian Mobile-ID | LT |
Estonian ID card | EE |
Latvian ID card | LV |
Lithuanian ID card | LT |
Finnish ID card | FI, AX |
CertEurope USB token | FR, PL |
certSIGN USB token | RO, PL |
Evrotrust | AL, AD, AM, AU, AT, AZ, BY, BE, BA, BG, CA, HR, CY, CZ, DK, EE, FI, FR, GE, DE, GR, HU, IS, IE, IT, IL, KZ, KE, XK, LV, LI, LT, LU, MT, MD, MC, ME, NL, NZ, NO, MK, PL, PT, RU, SM, RS, SK, SI, ES, SE, CH, TW, TR, UA, GB, US, VA, AX |
Chave Movel | PT |
D-Trust | DE, CA, ZA, GR, NL, BE, FR, ES, PT, LU, IE, IS, MT, CY, AX, FI, US, BG, HU, LT, LV, EE, HR, SI, IT, CH, CZ, SK, LI, AT, GG, DK, SE, NO, PL, MX, AR, BR, CL, AU, ID, PH, SG, RU, JP, KR, CN, TR, IN, SA, AE, QA |
Itsme | BE, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, IS, IE, IT, LU, NO, PT, SE, ES, NL, GB |
InfoCert | Worldwide |
Swisscom | CH |
MitID | DK |
SwissID | CH |
Swedish BankID | SE |
Local Certificate | Worldwide |
You’ll be redirected to the provider’s secure site to verify your identity.
What happens after signing?
Once all signers complete their fields and verify their identity PandaDoc will generate a Certificate of Signature with QES metadata. Your sender may also include the certificate in your email or share it via the document link.