Electronic Signature Legality — European Union

In the European Union, the legal effect of electronic signatures is set directly by the eIDAS Regulation, which applies in every member state without needing national transposition.

Legal framework

The eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 910/2014) provides in Article 25(1) that an electronic signature “shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements for qualified electronic signatures.” This is the EU-wide baseline: an ordinary electronic signature cannot be rejected just for being electronic.

Three levels of electronic signature

eIDAS distinguishes three tiers. A simple electronic signature (SES) is the basic form covered by Article 25(1). An advanced electronic signature (AES) must, under Article 26, be uniquely linked to and capable of identifying the signatory, created using signature-creation data under the signatory’s sole control, and linked to the signed data so that any subsequent change is detectable. A qualified electronic signature (QES) is an AES created by a qualified signature-creation device and based on a qualified certificate; under Article 25(2), only a QES has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature. This describes the law — it is not a claim about our service.

National law and formalities still matter

Under Article 2(3), eIDAS does not affect national or Union law relating to the conclusion and validity of contracts or other legal obligations concerning their form. Where a member state’s own law prescribes a particular form, that requirement sits outside eIDAS and must be checked country by country. Common examples include:

• notarial deeds (for example, real-estate transfers in many member states);
• certain employment-termination or guarantee documents where national law prescribes a specific written form;
• family-law and succession documents, such as wills.

For national specifics, see our Germany, France, and Spain pages.

eIDAS 2.0 and the EUDI Wallet

The 2024 amendment (Regulation (EU) 2024/1183) keeps this three-tier structure and the status of the qualified electronic signature unchanged, while introducing the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet, which member states must make available by December 2026 to widen access to qualified signatures.

How Sign For Free fits

Sign For Free provides a simple electronic signature (SES) with a self-claim identity model: signers confirm identity through the email address the request was sent to. We do not issue qualified certificates and do not provide qualified electronic signatures. Every completed document embeds a tamper-evident audit trail — event timestamps, the authentication method, and the document’s SHA-256 hash — sealed with an Ed25519 signature. Under Article 25(1) an SES cannot be denied admissibility for being electronic, and this record helps establish the reliability of the signature. You can verify any completed document independently on the verify page, without relying on our servers.

Not legal advice

This page is provided for general information only and is not legal advice. Laws change, and we do not guarantee that this information is current or complete. For specific questions, consult a licensed lawyer in the relevant member state.