Electronic signature
Information about the City of Lugano's documents with an electronic signature.
The documents issued by the City of Lugano may include one or more electronic signatures, in accordance with the Federal Law on Electronic Signatures (FiEle; RS 943.03).
The City may apply two types of signatures to its electronic documents:
- the qualified personal electronic signature with the name of the responsible staff member (generally applied as a dual signature). Pursuant to Article 14, paragraph 2bis of the Code of Obligations (CO; RS 220), this is equivalent to a handwritten signature;
- or the regulated seal (official seal), which contains the name of the signing organization.
A valid electronic signature ensures the integrity of the document, meaning that the content has not been modified after the signature, and the authenticity of the signed data, confirming the identity of the signer.
Electronically signed documents are provided with a qualified electronic timestamp. The attached electronic timestamp, which associates an official date and time with the document, serves to prove the existence of the document or the application of an electronic signature or seal at a specific time.
Electronically signed documents are delivered in PDF or PDF/A format. The latter complies with standards for the long-term preservation of electronic documents.
To check the validity of an electronically signed document, you can use the validator of the Swiss Confederation.
By uploading the document with the electronic signature and starting the validation process, you can verify the authenticity and integrity of the document. The result of the validation process conducted with this tool regarding the validity of the electronic signature is legally binding.
Most PDF viewers, such as those integrated into web browsers, smartphones, and tablets, are not capable of recognizing, displaying, or validating electronic signatures.
Therefore, electronically signed documents delivered by the Municipality generally include a visible representation of the signature, indicating its presence.
No, an electronically signed document is valid exclusively in electronic format. The printed version is considered a simple copy.
Send an email to the service that issued the document, attaching the detailed validation report available for download from the Federal Validator.
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.