QES and eIDAS Qualified Signatures: Current QCDS Boundary

QCDS 2.0.7 provides electronic-signature workflows and optional Level 2 Identity Verification, but it does not implement an eIDAS Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) workflow. Do not describe a normal QCDS Request—or a Request with Level 2 Identity Verification—as QES simply because the signer was identity-verified.

What QCDS Provides Today

The current QCDS signing workflow can preserve a strong transaction record: immutable Request/document snapshots, personal secure signer links, typed or drawn Signature/Initials fields, server-recorded signing timestamps, Signed Date linkage, delivery/opening evidence, final-value hashes, completed PDFs, and a Completion Audit Trail.

On eligible plans, Level 2 Identity Verification can additionally require a selected signer to complete provider-backed identity verification before QCDS allows that participant to sign.

What Level 2 Identity Verification Does Not Change

Level 2 is an identity-verification gate inside the QCDS transaction. It does not convert the QCDS signing engine into a qualified-signature service. Didit/Shufti verification evidence is associated with the Request and signer, but the current product does not issue or manage a qualified signing certificate for the signer.

What QCDS 2.0.7 Does Not Implement

The current QCDS source does not contain a QES-specific signing workflow, qualified signing-certificate issuance/selection, qualified signature-creation device workflow, or integration that claims to create an eIDAS Qualified Electronic Signature on the completed PDF.

For that reason, QCDS documentation, sales material, and customer workflows should use accurate terms such as electronic signature and, when enabled, Level 2 Identity Verification rather than promising QES.

If Your Process Specifically Requires QES

Treat QES as a separate compliance requirement. Confirm the legal/technical requirements for the transaction and use a qualified-signature solution or trust-service workflow that explicitly supplies the required qualified signing infrastructure. QCDS 2.0.7 should not be represented as supplying that missing layer.

You can still use QCDS for its implemented signing and evidence features where those features satisfy your organization's requirements; the important point is to describe the assurance level accurately.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCDS feature? Visit the QC Digital Signature Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.