Notarized and authenticated documents
Notarized procurements, electronic authentic instruments, gifts between persons: the ESQ is required by Decree No 2017-770 when the authentic instrument is drawn up on electronic media.
eIDAS · Qualified level · Native
Qualified eIDAS signature (QES) — €14.90 per signature
The highest level of electronic signature defined by eIDAS — legally equivalent to a handwritten signature in all 27 EU member states. Delivered by a qualified trust service provider (QTSP) on the EU trusted list. No subscription, no commitment, billed per use.
Regulation (EU) 910/2014 — Article 25(2)
QTSP on the EU trusted list
No commitment · pay-per-use billing
What is the eIDAS qualified signature?
The qualified electronic signature (QES Qualified Electronic Signature) is defined in Articles 3 ((12) and 26 of European Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 on eIDAS and is based on a digital certificate issued personally to the signatory after strict verification of his identity, and created via a qualified signature device (QSCD) managed by a qualified trust service provider (QTSP) on the European Trusted List.
Article 25 (2) of eIDAS gives it a unique legal value: the ESQ is strictly equivalent to a handwritten signature in the 27 Member States, without any additional formalities.
Pricing at the moment no subscription, no commitment
QES is billed at €14.90 per signature without a subscription, on every plan, including Free — or €9.90 with a subscription. No minimum, no commitment. You only pay for what you sign.
Examples of monthly cost
| QES signatures / month | Monthly cost (excl. VAT) | Typical profile |
|---|---|---|
| 1 signature | €14.90 | Community trade mark, trade mark, right to use, right to be heard |
| 5 signatures | €49.50 | Law firm or notary monthly statutory acts |
| 20 signatures | €198 | Average notarial certification current documents + authentic documents |
| 50 signatures | €495 | Business office / M&A closures and high-stakes deals |
| 100+ signatures | The volume tariff | Contract Enterprise negotiated discount by monthly volume |
Prices excl. VAT, VAT added on top. A one-off signature without a subscription costs €14.90, paid at send time. The monthly volumes above assume a subscription: each signature is then €9.90, charged to your saved card at send time. Prepaid packs, from €6.90 per signature, cover irregular use. Above 100 signatures/month, volume pricing is negotiated in the Enterprise contract — contact the sales team.
Qualified signature is available on every plan, including Free and Personal: no subscription is required to use it. Without an active subscription you pay €14.90 per signature at send time, or use a prepaid pack; with one, each signature costs €9.90, charged to your saved card at send time unless it is covered by the signatures included in your plan or by a pack.
When to use the qualified signature?
The ESQ becomes necessary as soon as the law explicitly requires it, or when the risk of challenge requires maximum probative force.
Filings on the INPI one-stop shop
Changes, closure of a business, annual accounts filings: the French business formalities one-stop shop (Guichet unique), operated by the INPI, requires FranceConnect+ or an advanced signature based on a qualified certificate, applied to the formality's summary PDF. A qualified signature meets this requirement. Trademark and patent filings, on the other hand, are signed directly in the INPI portal.
Public procurement and tendering
Answers to public contracts requiring qualified signature (large EU contracts, regular contracts, defence contracts) Decree No 2016-360 and the PLACE platform impose the ESQ for certain public procurement thresholds.
M&A, divestments, high stakes
Closing M&A, business divestments, mergers and acquisitions, shareholder pacts worth tens of millions: the ESQ rules out any possible dispute as to the identity of the signatory or the integrity of the deed.
Community policy, employment policy, employment policy, employment policy
Transactions requiring the highest level of customer identification (LCB-FT, high-stakes contracts, ACPR/AMF requests). The QES provides cryptographic proof of the signatory's consent with this trace integrated into the PDF.
Special HR and regulated procedures
International mobility agreements, settlement agreements in high-risk contentious contexts, international contracts subject to foreign jurisdictions that explicitly require eIDAS QES to recognise the act.
How the Certyneo QES signature works
Four steps approximately 3 to 5 minutes for the first act, less than one minute for the following ones once the identity has been verified.
- 1
Preparing the envelope
Import the PDF to sign, add the signatories and place the fields as for any Certyneo envelope.
- 2
Identity verification by the QTSP
The signer is redirected to our provider's qualified identity app, a QTSP on the European trusted list, for an identity-document and video-selfie check. First time only: subsequent signatures reuse the certificate.
- 3
Application of the qualified signature
The QTSP issues the qualified certificate, calculates the cryptographic signature (PAdES-LTA), and seals the PDF. The operation takes a few seconds on the server side, transparent to the signer.
- 4
10 years of storage + Stripe bill
The signed PDF is archived for 10 years in the Certyneo vault, exportable at any time with its complete audit trail. With a subscription, the signature (€9.90) is charged to your saved card at send time; without one, it is paid per act, €14.90.
SES, AES, QES what level for what act?
The three eIDAS levels meet different burden of proof requirements.
| The criteria | SES Simple | AES Advanced | QES Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication of the signatory | Click or check box | SMS OTP | Qualified certificate issued by QTSP after identity verification |
| Evidence of value | Contract basis | The Court of Justice of the European Union has consistently held that the Commission's decision to initiate proceedings is not in itself a manifest error of assessment. | Maximum EU handwritten equivalent (Article 25 (2)) |
| Typical use case | CGU, quotes, accused | HR contracts, NDAs, mandates, leases | Notarial acts, INPI, public contracts, M&A |
| Certyneo pricing | Included in all plans | Included in the Personal plan (9 €/month) | Per act on every plan: €14.90 without a subscription, €9.90 with one |
| Available on Certyneo | Yes all plans | Yes from a personal level | Yes — on every plan, per act |
Frequently asked questions about Certyneo QES
Does Certyneo's QES have the same legal value as another European QTSP's?
Yes. Certyneo's QES goes through a qualified trust service provider on the European trusted list published by the Commission. The issued certificate is uniformly recognised across all 27 member states under Article 25(2) of eIDAS: the resulting signature is strictly equivalent to that of any other QTSP on the list. Identity documents issued by 65 countries are accepted.
Why pay for QES per signature rather than through a monthly subscription?
The marginal cost of a qualified signature comes from the partner QTSP — each signature consumes a certificate, an identity check and a cryptographic operation on their infrastructure. Rather than folding that cost into a flat monthly subscription (which penalises occasional use), we bill by usage, and you pick the formula: €14.90 per signature without a subscription, €9.90 per signature with a subscription (worth it from 2 signatures a month), or prepaid packs from €6.90 per signature. Above 100 signatures/month, negotiated volume pricing is available in the Enterprise contract.
Does the signer need to install an app or create a QTSP account?
For the first signature only, the signer installs our provider's qualified identity app (iOS or Android) and authenticates. Verification takes about 3 minutes — identity document + video selfie — and accepts documents issued by 65 countries. Once the certificate is issued, every subsequent QES signature is applied in under a minute with no further verification. The certificate is stored on the signer's phone and remains valid for several years.
Is QES available on all Certyneo plans?
Yes. Since per-act payment shipped, QES is available on every plan, including Free and Personal — no upgrade is needed to pick “Qualified (QES)” in the send wizard. Only the price and the way you pay change: with no active subscription you pay for the envelope at send time, €14.90 per signature or from a prepaid pack; with a Personal, Standard, Business or Business Pro subscription, €9.90 per signature is charged to your saved card at send time, and Business and Business Pro include 1 and 3 signatures per month respectively.
Which embedded signature formats are used? PAdES-LTA?
Yes. Certyneo's QES uses the PAdES-LTA format (PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures — Long Term Availability) defined by ETSI EN 319 142. The qualified certificate, the qualified timestamp and all validation information are embedded in the PDF itself, which keeps the signature verifiable for 10 years even if the QTSP shuts down in the meantime. Adobe Reader, the INPI / RBE / court verifiers and public procurement portals recognise this format natively.
Can I test the QES before paying €14.90?
The cost of a QES (€14.90 without a subscription, €9.90 with one) is paid when you send the envelope: preparing an envelope or a draft costs nothing. If you want to test the signer experience before committing to a qualified signature, choose the AES level (included from the Personal plan) to get familiar with the interface, then switch to QES for your real deeds.
Is QES recognized outside the EU?
Within the EU and the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway), the eIDAS QES is legally recognised in every member state. Outside the EU (United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, etc.), recognition depends on bilateral agreements and the law of the destination country. Switzerland and the UK have equivalent frameworks (ZertES, eIDAS-UK) with partial mutual recognition agreements. For a deed intended for a third country, consult an international lawyer to confirm local recognition.