Electronic signatures in Switzerland: a drawn signature is not a QES

An electronic signature can mean a typed name, a signature drawn on a screen or a cryptographically verified signing process. Those methods do not all have the same legal effect. Start with the transaction: does Swiss law require a particular form, have the parties agreed one, and do other jurisdictions matter? Choosing the most convenient platform before answering those questions can produce a beautifully organised audit trail for a document that does not satisfy the required form.

Form-free contracts and written form are different

Swiss contract law generally permits agreements without a prescribed form unless a rule requires otherwise. An electronic exchange can therefore be relevant evidence of a binding form-free contract. Where statutory written form is required, Article 14 paragraph 2bis CO equates a qualifying Swiss electronic signature with a handwritten signature, subject to contrary legal or contractual rules. The requirements include a qualified electronic signature and a qualified timestamp under the Swiss electronic-signature framework. A pasted image is not that technology.

Check the provider and the signature level

Ask whether the exact signing process produces the required Swiss-qualified signature, not merely whether the provider offers electronic signing somewhere in its product range. Preserve the signed original file and validation information. Foreign qualified signatures and Swiss recognition should be checked for the actual use case rather than assumed interchangeable. Also verify that the signer has authority to bind the company: excellent identity verification cannot cure a missing corporate signature power.

Some transactions need more than a signature

Public notarisation and special corporate or property formalities are separate requirements. A qualified signature does not automatically replace them. Example: an ordinary supplier order and the purchase of Swiss real estate do not follow the same form rules. Contractual clauses can also specify a signing or amendment method. Read those provisions before changing a signed agreement through a casual email, especially when the contract says changes require a particular form.

Build a signing checklist that fits the document

Record the parties, authorised signers, required form, approved signing level and storage location. Test that the final document includes every schedule and that no unsigned version is mistaken for the executed copy. The surprising fact is that a simple email may be enough for one agreement while an impressive-looking PDF signature is insufficient for another. Use a proportionate process, but make that choice deliberately and obtain transaction-specific advice where a form defect would put an important right at risk.