Electronic seals defined
An electronic seal under eIDAS is data in electronic form that is attached to or logically associated with other electronic data, to ensure the latter's origin and integrity. Unlike electronic signatures, which are linked to natural persons, electronic seals are linked to legal entities — companies, government agencies, or organisations. A qualified electronic seal provides the highest level of assurance.
Types of electronic seals
eIDAS recognises three levels: simple electronic seals (any electronic data indicating origin), advanced electronic seals (uniquely linked to the creator, capable of identifying them, created under their sole control), and qualified electronic seals (created by a qualified device and based on a qualified certificate). Only qualified seals enjoy full legal presumption across the EU.
Use cases
Electronic seals are used for: automated invoice generation (proving the organisation issued them), official government communications, tax documents, diplomas and certificates, software code signing, IoT device attestation, and mass document workflows where individual signatures are impractical.
How seals complement timestamps
While a timestamp proves when a document existed, a seal proves who created it. Combining both gives you complete provenance: you know the document came from a specific organisation at a specific time, and any modification is detectable. This combination is the gold standard for document integrity in the EU.