--- title: "Electronic signatures in the European Union (eIDAS) · Attest" description: "EU e-signature law in plain language: eIDAS, its simple, advanced and qualified tiers, the national form rules it leaves in place and how to prove a signature." url: https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-signatures-european-union updated: 2026-10-12 --- [Attest](https://attest.datahubz.com/)/[Legal](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal) # Electronic signatures in the European Union (eIDAS) Electronic signatures are valid across the European Union: the eIDAS Regulation says an electronic signature can't be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence just because it is electronic or isn't qualified, and it guarantees only a qualified electronic signature the legal effect of a handwritten one in every member state. National law still decides which documents need a written or handwritten form, a notary or a register; Attest signatures are electronic signatures, the base tier, built for everyday business agreements, and each is backed by the signer's own passkey signature over the exact document. By DataHubz · Updated October 12, 2026 · 7 min read · General information, not legal advice ## The law: the eIDAS Regulation The **eIDAS Regulation**, [Regulation (EU) No 910/2014](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014R0910-20241018) of July 23, 2014 on electronic identification and trust services, is a regulation, not a directive: it applies directly in every member state, with no national law needed to bring it in. Its signature rules have applied since July 1, 2016 (Article 52(2)), when it replaced the 1999 electronic signatures directive (Article 50). [Regulation (EU) 2024/1183](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1183/oj), in force since May 20, 2024, amended it, adding European Digital Identity Wallets, electronic archiving and electronic ledgers. Its core rule for signatures is Article 25: 1. "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" (Article 25(1)). 2. "A qualified electronic signature shall have the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature" (Article 25(2)), and a qualified signature based on a qualified certificate issued in one member state is recognized as qualified in all the others (Article 24a(1)). The same rule protects electronic documents: they can't be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence solely because they are electronic (Article 46). Everything else about a signature's effect is left to each country: "it is for national law to define the legal effect of electronic signatures, except for the requirements provided for in this Regulation according to which a qualified electronic signature should have the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature" (recital 49). For contracts, the [e-Commerce Directive](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02000L0031-20240217) requires member states to ensure "that their legal system allows contracts to be concluded by electronic means" (Directive 2000/31/EC, Article 9(1)). ## The three tiers in plain words | Tier | What eIDAS requires | Legal effect at EU level | | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Electronic signature** (Article 3(10)) | "Data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign". A typed name, a click, a drawn signature and a passkey approval can all qualify | Can't be refused legal effect or admissibility just because it is electronic or not qualified (Article 25(1)). Any further effect is for national law | | **Advanced electronic signature** (Articles 3(11) and 26) | Uniquely linked to the signatory; capable of identifying the signatory; created with signature creation data the signatory can, "with a high level of confidence, use under his sole control"; and linked to the signed data so that "any subsequent change in the data is detectable" | The same EU-level effect as any electronic signature. A member state may require it for a public body's online service (Article 27) | | **Qualified electronic signature** (Articles 3(12) and 3(15)) | An advanced signature created by a qualified signature creation device and based on a qualified certificate for electronic signatures, which is issued by a qualified trust service provider | "The equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature" (Article 25(2)), recognized as qualified in every member state (Article 24a) | The first tier is often called a simple electronic signature, though eIDAS calls it just an electronic signature. Article 26 doesn't itself require a certificate for the advanced tier. [Electronic vs digital signatures](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-vs-digital-signatures) explains how the tiers relate to cryptography. ## What national law still decides eIDAS sets a floor, not the whole rule. It "does not affect Union or national law related to the conclusion and validity of contracts, other legal or procedural obligations relating to form, or sector-specific requirements relating to form" (Article 2(3)). Each member state decides: - **Which documents need a written or handwritten form.** Most commercial contracts have no form requirement in most member states, so an electronic signature usually works. Where national law requires written or handwritten form, often only a qualified electronic signature satisfies it. - **Which contracts stay out of electronic contracting.** The e-Commerce Directive lets member states exclude four categories from its rule (Article 9(2)): contracts that create or transfer rights in real estate, except rental rights; contracts that by law require the involvement of courts, public authorities or professions exercising public authority; suretyships and collateral given by people acting outside their trade, business or profession; and contracts governed by family law or the law of succession. - **Which acts need a notary or a public register**, and what weight or presumption a signature carries in court. - **What public services accept.** If a member state requires an advanced electronic signature for a public body's online service, it must recognize advanced signatures, advanced signatures based on a qualified certificate and qualified signatures in at least the formats, or using the methods, defined in the Commission's implementing acts (Article 27(1)). The country pages cover national rules, for example [Ireland](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-signatures-ireland) and [Spain](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-signatures-spain). ## Proving an electronic signature - **Admissibility.** A court anywhere in the EU can't refuse an electronic signature or an electronic document as evidence just because it is electronic (Articles 25(1) and 46). - **Weight and burden.** eIDAS sets no procedural presumption that a signature is authentic. Who has to prove a signature, and how much weight it carries, is national procedural law. A qualified signature has the effect of a handwritten one (Article 25(2)). - **Time stamps and ledgers.** Only qualified services carry presumptions: a qualified electronic time stamp is presumed accurate as to its date and time and the integrity of the data (Article 41(2)), and records in a qualified electronic ledger are presumed correctly ordered and intact (Article 45k(2)). Time stamps and ledgers that aren't qualified can't be refused as evidence just because they aren't qualified (Articles 41(1) and 45k(1)). ## How to make an electronic signature hold up 1. **Check the form your country requires.** If a document needs written or handwritten form, a notary or a register, follow that rule, and use a qualified signature where the law requires one. 2. **Identify each signer** through a channel only they control, and keep a record of how. 3. **Tie each signature to the exact document**, so any later change is detectable. 4. **Keep the evidence:** what each signer signed, when, and a copy every party can produce later. ## Where Attest fits Attest signatures are electronic signatures, the base tier under eIDAS (Article 3(10)). They are not qualified electronic signatures, and Attest doesn't claim the advanced tier. They are built for everyday agreements that national law leaves free of form rules, such as client contracts, statements of work, NDAs, offer letters and vendor agreements, and each signature carries the evidence a court weighs: | What a court looks at | 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 before recording it. Attest confirms control of the email address and the passkey, not a government ID | | **That they meant to sign** | The signer reviews the document, and their passkey signs a statement that begins "I have reviewed and I sign", naming the document by its fingerprint | | **That nothing changed** | The statement includes the SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact document and of the signer's entries. Change one byte and verification fails | | **When** | The signing time is set by Attest's server and signed by the passkey, and the signed state is anchored on the Horizen public blockchain, whose block time shows when it was anchored | | **A record every party can produce** | 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. The open-source verifier inside the copy runs in any browser without any Attest service and checks each signer's passkey signature, the original document, the pages you see and Attest's anchored record on Horizen. A blockchain anchor is not a qualified time stamp, so it carries no Article 41(2) presumption; [is a blockchain-anchored signature legally valid?](https://attest.datahubz.com/guides/blockchain-anchored-signature-legal) explains how that evidence is used. As with any evidence, the national court decides how much weight it carries. Where your member state's law requires a qualified signature, a handwritten form, a notary or a register, use that form. 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 legally binding in the EU? For most business agreements, yes. eIDAS says an electronic signature can't be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence just because it is electronic or not qualified (Article 25(1)), and most commercial contracts have no form requirement in most member states. Where national law requires a written or handwritten form, a notary or a register, that rule applies. What is the difference between simple, advanced and qualified electronic signatures? A simple electronic signature is any electronic data a person uses to sign. An advanced one is uniquely linked to and capable of identifying the signer, made with means under their sole control, and linked to the data so any change is detectable (Article 26). A qualified one is an advanced signature made with a qualified signature creation device and based on a qualified certificate, and only it has the legal effect of a handwritten signature in every member state (Article 25(2)). When do I need a qualified electronic signature? When your member state's law requires one. eIDAS leaves form requirements to national law (Article 2(3)), and where national law requires a written or handwritten form, often only a qualified signature satisfies it. What eIDAS guarantees is that a qualified signature has the effect of a handwritten one and is recognized in every member state. Are Attest signatures qualified electronic signatures? No. Under eIDAS they are electronic signatures, the base tier (Article 3(10)), which can't be refused legal effect or admissibility because they are electronic and are recognized for most agreements, and Attest doesn't claim the advanced tier either. Each one carries evidence anyone can check: the signer's own passkey signature over the document's fingerprint and a public blockchain anchor. For a document your country's law requires in qualified or handwritten form, use that form. Does eIDAS still apply in the United Kingdom? Not the EU Regulation itself: the UK kept its own version, UK eIDAS, with the same three tiers and the same Article 25 rule. The EU's 2024 amendments are not part of the UK text, and EU qualified signatures are treated as qualified in the UK (UK eIDAS Article 24A). English law adds its own test: whether the signer intended to authenticate the document. ## Sources 1. [Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), consolidated text of October 18, 2024](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02014R0910-20241018), EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union, read October 12, 2026 2. [Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), original text as published in the Official Journal (recital 49)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2014/910/oj), EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union, read October 12, 2026 3. [Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 amending Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (European Digital Identity Framework)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1183/oj), EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union, read October 11, 2026 4. [Directive 2000/31/EC (e-Commerce Directive), consolidated text, Article 9](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02000L0031-20240217), EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union, read October 12, 2026 5. [UK eIDAS, Article 24A](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2014/910/article/24A), legislation.gov.uk (The National Archives), read October 11, 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. - [Electronic signatures in the United Kingdom](https://attest.datahubz.com/legal/electronic-signatures-united-kingdom) UK e-signature law in plain language: the Electronic Communications Act 2000, UK eIDAS, the intent test, deeds and witnesses, wills, Land Registry and Scotland. - [How to prove someone signed a document electronically](https://attest.datahubz.com/guides/prove-someone-signed-electronically) The evidence that proves an electronic signature: intent, identity, integrity and timing. How most services record it, and how Attest makes it checkable. - [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-european-union