Qualified electronic signature for a foreigner in Poland - introduction

Qualified electronic signature is an advanced digital signature that has legal force equal to a handwritten signature. In other words, a document signed with a qualified e-signature is as valid under the law as if it had been signed by hand. Such a signature is based on qualified certificate, issued by authorized certification centers, which guarantees security and identity verification signer. Only the person whose data appears in the certificate can use the signature in question, so that the submitted e-signature uniquely identifies the author.

In Poland (as in the rest of the EU, according to the regulation of the eIDAS) qualified e-signature is legally recognized by government offices and courts, as well as by private entities. Its importance is growing with digitization of administration and business. We're doing more and more things online - from dealing with government offices to entering into business contracts - a qualified electronic signature allows you to do this remotely, without paper documents. For example, using an e-signature, you can sign a any official or business document. This has practical applications in many situations, including:

• Electronic Public Administration: E-government platforms, such as ePUAP (Electronic Platform for Public Administration Services), make it possible to send official requests and letters online. To authenticate such documents, a trusted electronic signature is required - this can be a trusted profile or qualified signature. Trusted profile is a free signature used in communication with offices and administration, but it can only be obtained by having a Polish number PESEL.

• For those without PESEL (including foreign nationals) a qualified electronic signature is becoming the alternative; it can be used, for example, to sign an application by ePUAP. Similarly, the new system e-Delivery - official electronic mailbox for correspondence with authorities - requires that the application for such a mailbox be signed with either a trusted profile or a qualified e-signature. With a qualified signature, a foreigner can thus take full advantage of e-government, even without Polish citizenship or registration in Poland – service IDnow in podpisano.pl.

• Contracting and corporate documents: Qualified e-signature is great for signing of distance contracts - From contracts with customers to employment contracts or orders. In Poland, it is becoming increasingly common to accept electronically signed documents instead of the traditional handwritten signature. This also applies to documents of companies (e.g., resolutions, minutes, reports). In many cases, the law even enforces the electronic form - for example financial statements of limited liability companies must be prepared and filed electronically, bearing a qualified signature or a trusted signature of each board member. A person with a qualified signature can perform all these actions remotely and save time, avoiding the physical presence of signing piles of papers.

B2B communications and formal procedures: In business-to-business relations, e-signature facilitates the circulation of documents (e.g., electronically signing structured invoices or commercial offers). In addition, when participating in public tenders In Poland, for several years now, bids have been submitted only electronically - a qualified signature is required for valid submission of a bid on a bidding platform. Also, participation in various electronic auctions or B2B platforms may require authentication with a qualified signature. For a foreigner who does not have a local ePUAP account, such a signature is a universal tool recognized by all systems.