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 verification of the identity of the signer. Only the person whose data appear in the certificate can use a given signature, so that the submitted e-signature uniquely identifies the author.

In Poland (as in the rest of the EU, according to the regulation eIDAS) qualified e-signature is legally recognized by offices and courts, as well as by private entities. Its importance is growing with the digitization of administration and business. We are doing more and more things over the Internet - from dealing with government offices to entering into commercial contracts - a qualified electronic signature allows us to do this remotely, without paper documents. For example, using an e-signature, you can sign 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), allow users 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. A trusted profile is a free signature used in communication with offices and administration, but can only be obtained by having a Polish number PESEL.

• For people without PESEL (including foreigners), the qualified electronic signature, which can be used to sign, for example, an application via ePUAP, is just becoming an alternative. Similarly, the new system e-Correspondence - the official electronic mailbox for correspondence with authorities - requires that the application for such a mailbox be signed with 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 - the IDnow service at podpisano.pl

• Contracting and company documents: Qualified e-signature is great for signing contracts at a distance - 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 company documents (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 submitted electronically, bearing a qualified signature or a trusted signature of each board member. A person with a qualified signature can perform all these activities 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.