e-Archiving and eIDAS-Compliant Preservation: what they are, differences and benefits

With the revision of the eIDAS Regulation, e-Archiving has become part of trust services.

This evolution marks the transition from purely national preservation systems to a standardized European model that ensures businesses and Public Administrations the highest level of legal protection and interoperability of digital documents across the EU market.

Digital document preservation: what is e-Archiving?

e-Archiving is an electronic archiving service for digital documents that ensures their preservation. According to the definitions of eIDAS 2.0, it is “a service that enables the receipt, storage, consultation and deletion of electronic data and electronic documents in order to ensure their durability and readability as well as to preserve their integrity, confidentiality and proof of origin for the entire retention period”.

The reference to the revision of the European Regulation governing digital identity and trust services is fundamental. In eIDAS 2.0, in fact, e-Archiving is included among trust services. This creates a new category of archiving services aimed at harmonizing preservation rules across different European countries.

Qualified e-Archiving: the requirements of eIDAS 2.0

The revision of the eIDAS Regulation introduces Qualified e-Archiving: archiving therefore becomes qualified. This innovation arises from the need to harmonize preservation solutions across EU countries and to provide a service that does not simply archive documents but guarantees their legal validity over time by ensuring durability, integrity and proof of authenticity.

According to the EU Regulation, a qualified electronic archiving service is “an electronic archiving service provided by a qualified trust service provider and that meets the requirements set out in Article 45-undecies”. 

Qualified e-Archiving services must meet the following requirements:

• They are provided by Qualified Trust Service Providers (QTSPs);
• They use procedures and technologies capable of ensuring the durability and readability of electronic data for the entire retention period while preserving their integrity;
• They ensure that archived documents are protected from the risk of loss or alteration;
• They allow users to automatically receive a certificate (validated by the electronic signature or seal of the service provider) proving the integrity and authenticity of the files.

Differences between Qualified e-Archiving and compliant digital preservation

Qualified electronic archiving essentially has the same purpose as the compliant digital preservation provided for by Italian regulations, namely ensuring that archived digital documents remain intact, readable and legally valid over time. 

However, there is a subtle yet substantial difference: while Italian compliant preservation, based on the CAD and the AgID Guidelines, is a purely national concept, the “qualified” version enjoys automatic recognition in all European Union Member States. The legal value of archived documentation therefore extends beyond national borders. 

Moreover, the requirements set by eIDAS for Qualified e-Archiving are more demanding than the Italian ones:

• Evidentiary effectiveness: Italian compliant preservation guarantees the validity of documents, but in case of dispute it is up to the judge to determine their evidentiary value; qualified digital archiving instead introduces a legal presumption of integrity;
• Compliance certification: Qualified Service Providers recognized at the European level are subject to periodic conformity assessments;
• International standards: In Italy, following ISO standards is often a requirement to obtain accreditation, but implementation may vary. eIDAS 2 imposes mandatory ETSI standards (such as ETSI EN 319 401) that define exactly how technical controls must be implemented and ensure that documents are readable and valid across all 27 Member States of the European Union.

Benefits of e-Archiving for businesses and Public Administration

Compared with traditional Italian compliant digital preservation, qualified e-Archiving offers several advantages, which can be summarized as follows:

• Legal presumption of integrity and origin: the document is legally considered authentic and unaltered;
• Compliance: e-Archiving ensures full compliance with both the European Union regulatory framework and Italian legal provisions;
• Interoperability: Qualified e-Archiving is a European trust service, meaning that an archive created by a qualified provider is automatically readable and accepted in all European countries;
• Reports and certificates: the eIDAS system allows users to receive automated reports (digitally signed by the provider) confirming the status of documents, thus ensuring that legally robust proof of validity is always available;
• Automation of document management processes;
• Improved security and data protection: in e-Archiving, each document is validated with a timestamp that certifies with absolute precision the moment of archiving. In addition, providers must comply with very high security standards, including the use of encryption algorithms capable of resisting sophisticated breach attempts and Disaster Recovery plans for file recovery.

Certified document preservation: how to implement it 

The e-Archiving service can be on-premise, cloud-based or hybrid. In any case, it must be provided by a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) accredited for e-Archiving in the EU Trusted List. The contract must also specify that the service is provided in accordance with the eIDAS Regulation.

Companies are also required to update the Preservation Manual accordingly, indicating that the process now follows the eIDAS 2 regulation and referencing the new qualified provider.

Once e-Archiving is activated, documents already archived can follow two paths:

• Requalification: the QTSP applies a new Qualified Electronic Seal to existing documents and adapts them to the European standard;
• Coexistence: previously archived documents may remain in the Italian compliant preservation system, while all new ones are archived using the new system.

To obtain automated reporting, it is sufficient to request from the provider the credentials or APIs needed to access the “Integrity Attestation” function.