--- title: "Electronic signatures in Argentina · Attest" description: "Argentine e-signature law in plain language: Ley 25.506, firma electrónica vs firma digital, the Civil and Commercial Code, public deeds and proof." url: https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-signatures-argentina updated: 2026-10-12 --- [Attest](https://attest.datahubz.com/)/[Legal](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal) # Electronic signatures in Argentina Most business contracts in Argentina can be signed electronically, because the law imposes no form on them (Código Civil y Comercial, articles 284 and 1015) and Ley 25.506 recognizes both the firma electrónica and the firma digital. The difference is proof: only a firma digital, backed by a licensed certifier, is presumed to be the signer's and satisfies a legal signature requirement, while whoever relies on a firma electrónica that is disowned must prove it (article 5), with the kind of evidence Attest records through each signer's own passkey signature. By DataHubz · Updated October 12, 2026 · 6 min read · General information, not legal advice ## The laws - **[Ley 25.506 de Firma Digital](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/70000-74999/70749/texact.htm)**, sanctioned on November 14, 2001, recognizes "el empleo de la firma electrónica y de la firma digital y su eficacia jurídica" (the use of the electronic signature and the digital signature and their legal effect) under the conditions it sets (article 1). [Ley 27.446](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/310000-314999/311583/norma.htm) of 2018 amended it and repealed its article 4, the old list of excluded acts. - **[Decreto 182/2019](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/320000-324999/320735/texact.htm)** regulates Ley 25.506, including the licensed certifiers behind the firma digital. - **The [Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/235000-239999/235975/texact.htm)** (Ley 26.994, in force since August 1, 2015) sets the rules on form, signature and evidence that decide how an electronic signature works in practice. ## Firma electrónica and firma digital Argentina has two categories, and nothing in between ([electronic vs digital signatures](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-vs-digital-signatures) explains the general difference). | | Firma electrónica | Firma digital | | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Definition** | "\[C\]onjunto de datos electrónicos integrados, ligados o asociados de manera lógica a otros datos electrónicos, utilizado por el signatario como su medio de identificación, que carezca de alguno de los requisitos legales para ser considerada firma digital" (Ley 25.506 article 5) | The result of applying to a digital document a mathematical procedure that requires information known only to the signer and under their absolute control, verifiable by third parties so as to identify the signer and detect any later change (article 2) | | **What it takes** | Any method the signer uses as their means of identification. Certificates from certifiers that aren't licensed have the effects of a firma electrónica (Decreto 182/2019, annex, article 10) | Created while the signer's certificate is valid, verified against it, and with that certificate issued or recognized by a "certificador licenciado" (licensed certifier, article 9) | | **Effect** | Legally recognized (article 1), but "\[e\]n caso de ser desconocida la firma electrónica corresponde a quien la invoca acreditar su validez" (if it is disowned, whoever invokes it must prove its validity, article 5) | Satisfies a legal requirement of a handwritten signature (article 3). Presumed, unless proven otherwise, to belong to the certificate holder (article 7) and the document unchanged since signing (article 8) | The government's plain-language guide puts the difference simply: if someone denies your firma electrónica, you have to prove it is authentic; if someone denies your firma digital, whoever denies it must prove it is false ([argentina.gob.ar](https://www.argentina.gob.ar/justicia/derechofacil/leysimple/firma-digital)). ## What the Civil and Commercial Code adds - **Freedom of form.** If the law doesn't set a form, the parties may use the one they see fit (article 284), and only the contracts the law gives a form are formal (article 1015). - **Writing on any support.** Written expression can be on any support, provided its content is intelligible text, even if reading it requires technical means (article 286). - **Signature.** A signature proves authorship of the declaration in the text it belongs to; in instruments generated by electronic means, the requirement of a person's signature is met with a firma digital (article 288). - **Proof.** Contracts may be proved by any means suitable for reaching reasonable conviction (article 1019), the authenticity of a signature can be proved by any means (article 314), and judges weigh documents that aren't public instruments (instrumentos particulares) considering, among other things, "la confiabilidad de los soportes utilizados y de los procedimientos técnicos que se apliquen" (the reliability of the media used and of the technical procedures applied, article 319). - **Consumer contracts.** Where a law requires a consumer contract in writing, an electronic support meets that requirement (article 1106). ## Documents with their own rules Ley 25.506 has had no list of excluded acts since 2018, but other laws still set the form: - **Real estate.** Contracts to acquire, modify or extinguish real rights in real estate, and other contracts the law or the parties require in that form, must be executed by escritura pública (Código Civil y Comercial article 1017). - **Wills.** A will may be made only in the forms the Code provides (article 2473): a holographic will must be entirely written, dated and signed "por la mano misma del testador" (by the testator's own hand, article 2477), and a will by public act is executed by escritura pública before a notary and two witnesses (article 2479). - **Formal acts.** An act not executed in the form the law requires isn't concluded as such until the instrument is executed, but it binds the parties to complete that formality, unless the form is required on pain of nullity (article 285). - **Legal signature requirements.** Where a law requires a person's signature on an electronic instrument, only a firma digital meets it (article 288; Ley 25.506 article 3). ## How to make an electronic signature hold up 1. **Use it where the law sets no form**, which covers most commercial contracts (articles 284 and 1015). 2. **Plan to prove it.** If the other party disowns a firma electrónica, you prove its validity (Ley 25.506 article 5), so choose a method that records who signed, what they signed and that nothing changed. 3. **Keep evidence of what article 319 weighs**: reliable media and technical procedures. 4. **Use a firma digital or a notary** where a law requires a signature, an escritura pública or a will's form. ## How Attest fits ordinary business agreements Attest signatures are firmas electrónicas under article 5 of Ley 25.506, valid for the contracts the law leaves free of form, such as service agreements, statements of work, NDAs and supplier agreements. They are not firmas digitales in the legal sense, which need a certificate from a licensed certifier. That means Attest's job is the article 5 burden: if a signer disowns their signature, its evidence is built to prove it, and to meet the reliability that article 319 asks the judge to weigh. | What a court weighs | What Attest records | | --------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Who signed** | Each signature is made with a passkey registered to the signer's email address. A passkey is a cryptographic key only the signer controls, unlocked with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or the device PIN, and it must confirm the signer is present and verified. Attest checks each signature against the passkey's public key. Attest confirms control of the email address and the passkey, not a government ID | | **What they signed** | The passkey signs a statement that begins "I have reviewed and I sign", with the SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact document and of the signer's entries. Change one byte and verification fails | | **Reliable media and technical procedures** (article 319) | The evidence uses open standards (WebAuthn and SHA-256), the signed state is anchored on the Horizen public blockchain, and the open-source verifier inside the signed copy runs in any browser without any Attest service, checking each signer's passkey signature, the original document, the pages you see and Attest's anchored record on Horizen | | **The record itself** | Every party downloads the same sealed PDF: the signed pages, with a "Signed with Attest" stamp on each signature and a seal line at the foot of every page, a certificate of completion, the audit trail up to completion and a "Verify it yourself, without us" page, with the full evidence, the original document and a standalone verifier attached inside | A **fingerprint** (SHA-256 hash) is a short code calculated from a file's contents that changes if a single byte changes. Because the verifier travels inside the file, a judge, an expert or the other party can run its checks without Attest. For real estate, wills, or any act where a law requires a signature on an electronic instrument, use a notary or a firma digital from a licensed certifier. Every document is end-to-end encrypted, so Attest can't read it. Signers need no account and never pay, and anyone can verify a signed copy for free at [attest.datahubz.com/verify](https://attest.datahubz.com/verify). Your first 2 documents are free, in total, then the Signing plan is $5 a month for 20 documents. ## Questions people ask Is an electronic signature valid in Argentina? Yes. Ley 25.506 recognizes the firma electrónica and its legal effect (article 1), and most contracts have no required form, so they can be signed electronically (Código Civil y Comercial articles 284 and 1015). What changes with the type of signature is who has to prove it in a dispute. What is the difference between firma digital and firma electrónica? A firma digital uses a certificate issued or recognized by a licensed certifier (Ley 25.506 article 9); it satisfies a legal signature requirement and is presumed to be the signer's and the document unchanged (articles 3, 7 and 8). Any electronic signature that lacks one of those legal requirements is a firma electrónica (article 5), which is recognized but carries no presumption. Who has to prove an electronic signature in Argentina? If a firma electrónica is disowned, whoever invokes it must prove its validity (Ley 25.506 article 5). With a firma digital, it is presumed to belong to the certificate holder unless proven otherwise (article 7). The judge weighs the evidence considering the reliability of the media and technical procedures used (Código Civil y Comercial article 319). Can I buy property or make a will with an electronic signature in Argentina? No. Contracts on real rights in real estate must be executed by escritura pública (Código Civil y Comercial article 1017). A holographic will must be written, dated and signed by the testator's own hand (article 2477), and a will by public act is made before a notary and two witnesses (article 2479). Is an Attest signature a firma digital? No. Attest signatures are firmas electrónicas under Ley 25.506 article 5; a firma digital needs a certificate from a licensed certifier. They are valid for contracts with no required form, and each one carries the evidence to prove it if disowned: the signer's own passkey signature over the document's fingerprint, a public blockchain anchor and a verifier anyone can run. ## Sources 1. [Ley 25.506 de Firma Digital, consolidated text](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/70000-74999/70749/texact.htm), InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia, Argentina, read October 12, 2026 2. [Ley 27.446 (Boletín Oficial, June 18, 2018)](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/310000-314999/311583/norma.htm), InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia, Argentina, read October 12, 2026 3. [Decreto 182/2019, regulation of Ley 25.506, updated text](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/320000-324999/320735/texact.htm), InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia, Argentina, read October 12, 2026 4. [Código Civil y Comercial de la Nación (Ley 26.994), updated text](https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/235000-239999/235975/texact.htm), InfoLEG, Ministerio de Justicia, Argentina, read October 12, 2026 5. [Ley simple: Firma digital](https://www.argentina.gob.ar/justicia/derechofacil/leysimple/firma-digital), Ministerio de Justicia, Argentina (argentina.gob.ar), read October 12, 2026 ## Read next - [Electronic vs digital signatures: the difference](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-vs-digital-signatures) An electronic signature is a legal idea; a digital signature is a cryptographic technique. How they relate, where the EU tiers fit and where Attest fits. - [Are electronic signatures legally binding?](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/are-electronic-signatures-legally-binding) Yes, for most agreements: ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS and similar laws say a signature can't be refused just for being electronic. The laws, exceptions and evidence. - ["I never signed that": proving an e-signature](https://attest.datahubz.com/guides/i-never-signed-that) When a counterparty denies signing: how e-signature disputes are argued, the evidence to gather, and how Attest's passkey signatures answer the claim. - [Document signing](https://attest.datahubz.com/sign) Electronic signatures with a passkey: no account or password for signers, documents encrypted in the browser, and a signed copy anyone can verify. --- Source: https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-signatures-argentina