Electronic signature

What it means

An electronic signature binds a document to the signatory and shows the content has not changed since. The eIDAS regulation distinguishes simple, advanced and qualified signatures - and only the qualified one has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature across the EU.

A qualified signature is created with a qualified device, in Slovakia usually a chip ID card or a certificate on a token. Beside it sits the electronic seal, with which an organisation rather than a person signs.

Logging into a portal with an ID card and signing a document are not the same thing. Logging in verifies who is at the computer; a signature binds a particular document to a person. The office therefore accepts some filings after login and others only with a qualified electronic signature attached to the file itself.

How it works in practice

It is used for filings through the official e-mailbox and the tax portal, for contracts signed remotely and for electronic invoicing. An authorised person gets access under a power of attorney, not by being handed the card and the PIN.

A qualified timestamp adds proof of when the document was signed, which matters for statutory deadlines and for documents that have to stay verifiable for years after the signing certificate itself expires.

If the memorandum of association says the directors act jointly, each of them has to sign the document electronically. For contracts and filings of such a company we therefore check the manner of representation in the register extract in advance, so signing does not stall because one director is travelling.

What to watch out for

A scanned signature inside a PDF is not an electronic signature and proves nothing in a dispute. Signing devices are likewise never lent out: the signature counts as the holder’s act, and responsibility cannot be explained away afterwards.

A signing certificate is valid for a limited time, and a new one has to be arranged when the ID card is replaced. Discovering this on the last day of the filing deadline can mean the filing is not signed in time, and the late-filing penalty follows regardless of the fault being technical.