Notarising Documents Remotely with eIDAS Trust Services

Bureaucracy Without Pain, Written by an EU Notary

Relocating is exhilarating—until the paperwork monster wakes up. Killing it with a fountain pen, apostilles and courier envelopes feels very 1997. Fortunately, the European Union’s eIDAS Regulation has made it possible to notarise many documents entirely online, with legal effect across (most of) the continent.

I have been a practising notary in the Netherlands for eleven years, and over the last three I have replaced the ink pad on my desk almost entirely with qualified electronic seals. In this guide I will walk you through:

• how remote notarisation actually works,
• which documents can travel this digital route,
• what it costs (spoiler: not horrifying),
• turnaround times you can realistically expect, and
• the country-specific caveats nobody remembers until the last minute.

If you are reading this on BorderPilot, you probably have a relocation plan brewing—keep that browser tab open. The more you understand about digital notarisation, the faster your move will be.

1. How Remote Notarisation Works

1.1 The Legal Backbone: eIDAS in 60 Seconds

eIDAS (Regulation (EU) 910/2014) harmonises electronic identification, signatures and trust services across all EU Member States plus the EEA. Two trust services matter for notarisation:

1. Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) – a digital signature that is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature anywhere in the EU.
2. Qualified Electronic Seals (QSeal) – think of these as the digital wax seal of a notary office or a company.

Both are issued by a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) after rigorous identity checks. When I notarise remotely, I will:

1. Verify your identity via a video call that satisfies Article 24(1)(d)
   (yes, that footnote lawyers keep citing).
2. Apply my QES and, where required, the QSeal of my notarial office.
3. Embed a time-stamp token so that auditors—and occasionally angry prosecutors—know the exact second the act took place.

Pull-quote

“A qualified electronic signature is not ‘like’ your ink signature. Under eIDAS it is your ink signature—just mathematically stronger.”

1.2 The Tech Stack You Will Touch

• A device with a camera and microphone (laptop, tablet, phone).
• A stable 4 Mbps internet connection (bonded satellite won’t cut it).
• Either your national eID token (e.g., German nPA, eIDAS wallet) or a passport + NFC for identity proofing.
• A browser plug-in or a lightweight desktop app provided by the QTSP.

You do not need blockchain; please delete that pitch deck someone sent you.

1.3 The Typical Workflow

1. Upload your draft document via the notary’s secure portal.
2. Select the remote notarisation slot and pay the invoice (PSD2 instant payments help).
3. Attend a recorded video session.
4. Review the final PDF/A file with embedded signatures and seals.
5. Download, forward or store in your BorderPilot vault.

End-to-end average time: 40 minutes for a single document if my espresso machine behaves.

2. Accepted Document Types

A frequent misconception is that remote notarisation is “for corporate stuff only.” In truth, most civil-law documents can be handled digitally unless national law mandates a physical form. Below is the matrix my office uses:

Why the hold-outs? Spoiler: centuries-old civil codes love their parchment.

Tip from the trenches: if a receiving authority “needs an apostille,” ask whether an e-apostille under the Hague Convention #12 (2019 protocol) will suffice. In 42 jurisdictions it already does.

3. Costs and Turnaround

3.1 Fee Components

1. Notarial Fee – regulated in most EU states. Remote sessions are usually the same price as in-person ones, but you save travel.
2. QTSP Usage – EUR 5–15 per signature in bulk, up to EUR 35 if you need a one-off, on-the-spot certificate.
3. Identity Proofing – one-time EUR 10–20, waived if you hold a national eID already on the QTSP’s whitelist.
4. Optional e-apostille – EUR 20–30.
5. Translation with QES – EUR 0.20–0.30 per word.

Total for a single POA: EUR 120–180, delivered same day.

For company incorporation with three shareholders and bilingual statutes: around EUR 950, two-to-three business days.

3.2 Hidden Time Sinks

• KYC loops with banks: many fintechs recognise QES instantly; a few dinosaur banks fax me a confirmation form.
• Cross-border acceptance: Spain, for instance, loves PDF 1.7 but Greece still wants PDF/A-3; exporting the wrong subtype can trigger a redo.
• Stamp tax portals: France’s Impôts.gouv interface will time out if the PDF collectively exceeds 5 MB. Compress wisely.

4. Country-Specific Caveats

Here comes the fun section where I air dirty laundry from across the Union. Take notes.

4.1 Germany – The Online-Beurkundung Model

Since August 2022, German notaries may authenticate limited company (GmbH) formations entirely online. However, real-estate transfers still require in-person presence due to § 311b BGB. If you want that Berlin loft, book a Ryanair flight or grant a POA to your cousin.

4.2 France – Accepts, But Registry Lags

French commercial courts accept e-notarised deeds, but the Greffe du Tribunal will sometimes print and scan your pristine file, downgrading it back to 200 dpi TIFF. Do not panic; legal force survives the indignity.

4.3 Italy – “Hybrid” Only

Italian law recognises QES, yet the notary profession remains fiercely analogue. A popular workaround: sign the deed electronically, then have an Italian notary attach a “verba procuratio” on paper. Two notarisations, one document. Bellissima bureaucracy.

4.4 Portugal – Video, But Only in Portuguese

The 2021 decree permits remote acts, but the video call and the instrument must be in Portuguese. Multilingual deeds need side-by-side columns or an annex. I once spent 15 minutes arguing over the Portuguese word for “escrow.” Spoiler: it’s still escrow.

4.5 Estonia – The Gold Standard

Estonia’s X-Road infrastructure allows me to co-sign deeds with clients who authenticate via their ID-card, Smart-ID or Mobiil-ID. Registry submission is automated. My record: company incorporated at 09:02, VAT number issued by 09:17. Beat that, Silicon Valley.

4.6 The United Kingdom – An Outlier

Post-Brexit, eIDAS no longer binds the UK. Remote notarisation still works if the UK receiving party voluntarily accepts an EU QES. Otherwise, a UK notary must do a “certified copy” of the electronic deed—yes, printing it first. BorderPilot users eyeing London should budget an extra week.

5. Practical Tips from the Notary’s Chair

1. Prepare your ID: Test the NFC chip of your passport beforehand using any free Android app. Scratched chips cause 80 % of session delays.
2. Mind the time zones: I once scheduled a call with a client in Chiang Mai who thought CET = Chiang Mai Time. If you’re juggling Asia, read our piece on staying fit abroad while the calendar invites sort themselves out.
3. Use a neutral email: Authorities occasionally distrust “@ilovecrypto.to” addresses. Stick to Gmail or a corporate domain.
4. PDF/A is your friend: Regular PDFs might display fine but fail a hash check at the land registry. Export in PDF/A-2u when in doubt.
5. Check the downstream: Not all counterparties are ready. A client incorporating in Estonia needed a Thai bank account later; the banker only recognised wet-ink signatures. (We eventually solved it—see our guide on Thailand vs Malaysia residency options.)

6. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is remote notarisation safe against fraud?
A: Statistically safer than ink. QES uses asymmetric cryptography; forging it is computationally suicidal. Identity proofing is recorded and archived for five years.

Q: What if my country of origin is outside the EU?
A: eIDAS validity stops at the EU border, but the Hague Apostille Convention often bridges the gap. I can affix an e-apostille recognised in 124 jurisdictions.

Q: Can I sign on my iPhone?
A: Yes, if the QTSP offers a mobile credential. Face ID will typically act as the second factor.

Q: How long is an electronic notarisation valid?
A: Indefinitely. Even if the certificate expires, the time-stamp freezes its validity at the moment of signing.

Q: What about handwritten marginal notes?
A: We replace them with digital annotations, each carrying its own QES. More legible, fewer ink smudges.

7. The Future: eIDAS 2 and the EU Digital Identity Wallet

By 2026, every Member State must issue a free Digital Identity Wallet. Think Apple Wallet, but for your national ID, driver’s licence and diplomas. Notaries will be able to pull KYC data with a single tap, slashing the onboarding time to minutes.

My prediction: by 2030, walking into a notary office will feel as quaint as renting a DVD. I’m already repurposing my oak-panelled waiting room into a podcast studio.

8. Key Takeaways

• Remote notarisation via eIDAS is legally solid and widely accepted for most civil and commercial documents.
• Costs are comparable to traditional notarisation, but you save on flights, couriers and aspirin.
• Country quirks remain—Germany loves hybrids, Italy loves tradition, Estonia loves speed.
• Preparation (proper ID, PDF/A, time zone awareness) is half the game.
• The upcoming EU Digital Identity Wallet will make the process even smoother.

Ready to cut the red tape?

BorderPilot’s relocation engine factors in each country’s e-notarisation rules automatically. Create your free relocation plan today and let data—not bureaucracy—guide you to your next country.