A qualified electronic signature uses modern encryption and certification technologies to ensure the authenticity and integrity of the signed document. The basic elements of a qualified electronic signature are:

Personal identification

Before obtaining a qualified electronic signature, the user must go through an identification process. This includes verification of identity through personal documents, through other trusted identity such as bank or state-guaranteed identity, or through remote identification. Remote identification, however, is not uniformly anchored in the European market, leading to different legal interpretations and approaches.

Certification of authority

The qualified electronic signature is obtained from a trusted certification authority. This authority confirms that a given key belongs to a specific person on the basis of personal identification.

Cryptography

The electronic signature is based on asymmetric cryptography and Private Key Infrastructure (PKI). It uses a pair of keys - a private key (which the signer uses to sign) and a public key (which anyone can use to verify the signature).