Legality

eIDAS is the short name for the legal framework that governs eSignatures, identity schemes, and trust services for all European Union (EU) member states. eIDAS defines 2 categories of eSignatures: (1) qualified and (2) non-qualified however use cases for different types of signatures may vary per EU member state. eIDAS has also inspired many laws around the world.

UK eIDAS is short name the legal framework that went into effect after the United Kingdom (UK) withdrew from the EU. There is a lot of balance between eIDAS and UK eIDAS and Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSP) certified in the EU (like DigiCert​​®​​) are recognized by the UK.

The Federal ESIGN Act and Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) which has been adopted by 49 states, Washington D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands govern the use of digital documents and eSignatures. However, neither law defines a tiered structure for eSignature types nor use cases for digital signatures.

ZertES is the Swiss legal framework that regulates the quality and issuance of digital certificates and requirements for Trust Service Providers (like DigiCert​​®​​) operating in Switzerland. ZertES is quite similar to eIDAS because and includes 3 categories of eSignatures: qualified, regulated, and non-qualified.