Electronic signature and other trust services (supervisory role, qualified services, documentation)

In Belgium

Situation checked in the corpus as at 31-10-2026.

The FPS Economy page “Signature électronique et autres services de confiance” (electronic signature and other trust services) presents the eIDAS Regulation, the Belgian law of 21 July 2016 known as the “eIDAS and electronic archiving” law, trust services and the supervision of their providers. It was last updated on 29 May 2026 FPS Economy — thematic page, Documentation; the corpus consulted it on 29 October 2026 FPS Economy — thematic page. The FPS sums up its role as follows:

In other words, the supervisory role has been entrusted to the FPS Economy, which is responsible for qualifying and supervising the trust service providers established in Belgium. The Code of Economic Law (CDE), which that law supplemented, defines the supervisory body as a body set up within the FPS Economy Art. I.18.

In Belgium

Situation checked in the corpus as at 31-10-2026.

The page concerns the trust service providers established in Belgium and their users. It describes in particular the procedure to follow in order to be qualified and entered on the Belgian trusted list FPS Economy — thematic page, Les prestataires de services de confiance qualifiés en Belgique. It refers to a list of frequently asked questions, to a guide for drafters of legislative texts and to presentations of the regulation and of the law FPS Economy — thematic page, Documentation.

In Belgium

Situation checked in the corpus as at 31-10-2026.

According to the FPS Economy:

• Qualification takes place in several stages. The checking of applicants is based in particular on a conformity assessment report drawn up, after an audit, by a body accredited for the service concerned; a first body to certify electronic archiving was accredited by BELAC (the Belgian Accreditation Body) in April 2023 FPS Economy — thematic page, Les prestataires de services de confiance qualifiés en Belgique.
• Supervision of qualified providers takes place ex ante and ex post: a periodic audit every two years or an extraordinary audit requested by the supervisory body FPS Economy — thematic page, Sécurité et contrôle.
• Electronic archiving. A company archiving electronic documents obtained qualified status and was placed on the European trusted list by Belgium; the FPS presents this as the first qualification of its kind in Europe FPS Economy — thematic page, Les prestataires de services de confiance qualifiés en Belgique. A working group, with the support of the FPS supervisory authority, drew up a certification scheme for electronic archiving; the Royal Decree of 29 March 2019 setting the applicable standards entered into force on 16 April 2019 FPS Economy — thematic page, Archivage électronique.
• A digital copy of a paper document made and kept by means of a qualified electronic archiving service is presumed to be a faithful and durable copy of it. The Code adds the reservation of particular legal or regulatory requirements (§ 6 of the article cited) FPS Economy — thematic page, Archivage électronique Art. XII.25.
• The other services (signature, seal, time stamping, electronic registered delivery, website authentication) are described on the basis of the definitions in the regulation FPS Economy — thematic page, Services de confiance.

In Belgium

Situation checked in the corpus as at 31-10-2026.

The page defines the trust service by three activities and states that electronic archiving is not defined in the eIDAS Regulation FPS Economy — thematic page, Services de confiance FPS Economy — thematic page, Archivage électronique. In the consolidated version of the regulation, the definition of trust service lists fourteen activities, including the electronic archiving of electronic data and electronic documents Art. 3(16), and an article sets the requirements for qualified electronic archiving services Art. 45j. These additions made by Regulation 2024/1183 do not appear on the page updated on 29 May 2026 (finding as at 31-10-2026) FPS Economy — thematic page, Documentation. Archiving under Belgian law is presented in step 4.