Qualified validation service (QVal)

QVal: the eIDAS trust service where a QTSP checks a qualified signature or seal and returns a result you can rely on.

A qualified validation service (QVal) is the trust service version of signature validation: a QTSP checks a qualified electronic signature or qualified electronic seal on a relying party's behalf and hands back the result, so the relying party does not have to run the cryptographic checks, fetch revocation data or walk the certificate chain itself.

Under eIDAS, a validation only counts as confirming a valid qualified signature once several conditions are met together:

• certificate: the certificate behind the signature was qualified, issued by a QTSP, and valid at the moment of signing
• validation data: the signature validation data used matches the data actually provided to the relying party
• signatory data: the certificate's unique set of data identifying the signatory is correctly presented to the relying party
• pseudonym: if the signatory used a pseudonym, that fact is clearly disclosed to the relying party
• device: the signature was created with a qualified signature creation device (QSCD)
• integrity: the signed data has not been altered since the moment of signing
• base requirements: the criteria for an advanced electronic signature (AdES) are also satisfied

A provider may only call this a qualified validation service if it delivers the result in an automated, reliable and efficient way and signs or seals that result itself, so the relying party can in turn check that the validation outcome has not been tampered with. The same construction extends to qualified electronic seals. The output commonly takes the shape of a signature validation report, and pairing a QVal with long-term validation (LTV) is what keeps an old qualified signature checkable long after its certificate has expired.

Note: Any software, including a free PDF reader, can attempt to validate a signature. Only a provider that has been granted qualified status for this specific service, and appears on the EU Trusted List, can issue a genuine QVal result - a green checkmark in ordinary software is not the same guarantee.