E-signature law
Are electronic signatures legal in my country? The laws, country by country, in one table
In every country on this page, yes: a contract does not fail just because it was signed electronically. What differs is which kind of signature a law demands for which document, and the short list of documents, usually wills, land and anything that needs a notary, that still have to be signed on paper.
Most people asking this question have one document in front of them and one country in mind. The table is for that: find the country, read the row, and open the full page if the document is one of the special cases. The pages behind each row go into the law in detail; this page is the map.
Three words come up in every row, so here is what they mean before the table.
- Simple electronic signature. Anything electronic that shows you meant to sign: a typed name, a drawn signature, a click on "I agree", a signing link from a platform. Valid for most everyday contracts almost everywhere.
- Advanced electronic signature. A signature that is linked to you and to the document in a way that shows up if either is changed. Platforms that record who signed, when and from where usually produce one.
- Qualified or digital signature. A signature made with a certificate from a provider the government recognises, often on a card, a USB token or through a national ID system. This is the only kind that most laws treat exactly like a handwritten signature, and the kind some documents require.
The names differ by country (firma digitale in Italy, DSC in India, güvenli e-imza in Turkey, e.firma in Mexico), but they are all the third kind.
The table
| Country | Main law | What counts as a valid signature | When a certificate-based signature is required | Still paper, witness or notary | Full answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | eIDAS Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 | All three levels are valid; a court may not reject a signature only because it is electronic | A qualified signature (QES) equals a handwritten one in every member state; each country decides which documents need one | Decided by each country's own law | EU |
| United Kingdom | Case law and the Law Commission's 2019 report | Any electronic signature made with the intention to authenticate; courts have accepted a typed name in an email | Not required for ordinary contracts; Scotland requires advanced or qualified signatures for some documents | Deeds need a witness who is physically present; wills are signed on paper before two witnesses | UK |
| Germany | BGB (Schriftform rules), eIDAS | Most contracts need no form, so any electronic signature works | Where the law requires Schriftform, only a QES replaces the handwritten signature | Dismissals and termination agreements (section 623 BGB) and personal guarantees exclude even QES; property purchases, GmbH share transfers and notarial wills need a notary | Germany |
| France | Code civil, articles 1366 and 1367 | Electronic writing and signatures equal paper when the signer is identified and the document's integrity is guaranteed | Only a QES is presumed reliable; for other signatures the person relying on them must prove it | Handwritten wills, some family-law and personal guarantee documents, property sales before a notaire | France |
| Spain | eIDAS and Ley 6/2020, Código Civil | Most contracts can be made in any form | A signature from a qualified trust service is presumed genuine if challenged | Property transfers that need registering and notarial wills go through a notary; a holographic will is handwritten | Spain |
| Italy | Codice dell'Amministrazione Digitale (D.Lgs. 82/2005), Civil Code art. 2702 | A firma digitale, other qualified signature or an advanced signature (FEA) meets the written-form requirement; a simple signature is weighed by the judge | Property transfers and the contracts in article 1350 nos. 1 to 12 of the Civil Code need a qualified or digital signature | Holographic wills are handwritten | Italy |
| United States | ESIGN Act (2000) and UETA in 49 states and DC; New York has its own statute | A signature or contract cannot be denied effect because it is electronic | No national certificate requirement; verification is about evidence | Wills, family-law matters, most of the Uniform Commercial Code, court documents and some consumer notices are carved out; notarised and recorded documents follow notary and recorder rules | US |
| Canada | Provincial and territorial electronic transactions acts; PIPEDA Part 2 for federal law | An electronic signature generally satisfies a legal signature requirement | Depends on the province | Wills (electronic wills allowed in British Columbia since December 2021), powers of attorney, negotiable instruments, land-transfer documents in several provinces | Canada |
| Brazil | Medida Provisória 2.200-2/2001; Lei 14.063/2020 | An ICP-Brasil signature is presumed authentic; parties may use other signatures they accept | Lei 14.063 says which of simple, advanced or qualified a public body needs; real-estate transfers and many registry acts need a qualified ICP-Brasil signature | Or a notary, for the same registry acts | Brazil |
| Mexico | Código de Comercio (reforms of 2000 and 2003); NOM-151 | Data messages and electronic signatures are recognised; an advanced or reliable signature equals a handwritten one | The SAT e.firma is an advanced signature for tax and government matters, and increasingly for contracts | Acts that must be in a public deed, such as most real-estate transfers, go through a notary | Mexico |
| Australia | Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) and state and territory acts; Corporations Act s. 127 | Valid when the method identifies the signer, shows intention, is reliable and the recipient consents | Companies can sign documents, including deeds, electronically under section 127 | Deeds signed by individuals, witnessing and wills depend on the state or territory | Australia |
| India | Information Technology Act, 2000 | An electronic record authenticated with a DSC or an approved electronic signature such as Aadhaar eSign | DSC or Aadhaar eSign is what the Act recognises | Wills, trusts, most individual powers of attorney and negotiable instruments are excluded; property documents still need stamping and registration | India |
| Bangladesh | Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006; Evidence (Amendment) Act, 2022 | A digital signature affixed in the prescribed manner satisfies a signature requirement; courts can admit digital records | A secure digital signature gets a presumption of integrity | Deeds, powers of attorney and documents that must be stamped, attested or registered follow paper procedures | Bangladesh |
| Pakistan | Electronic Transactions Ordinance, 2002 | An electronic signature or an advanced electronic signature satisfies a signature requirement | Advanced electronic signatures are presumed genuine in court | Negotiable instruments, powers of attorney, trusts, wills, and contracts for the sale or conveyance of immovable property are outside the Ordinance | Pakistan |
| Singapore | Electronic Transactions Act 2010, section 8 | Valid when it identifies the signer, shows intention and is reliable enough for the purpose | A secure electronic signature, such as Sign with Singpass, is presumed genuine | Wills, most trusts and powers of attorney, negotiable instruments, property sale contracts and conveyances, except where newer laws create electronic routes | Singapore |
| Indonesia | Law No. 11 of 2008 (UU ITE, amended 2016 and 2024); Government Regulation 71 of 2019 | Both certified (from an Indonesian PSrE) and uncertified signatures are valid | Certified signatures are much stronger evidence, and the 2024 amendment requires them for high-risk transactions | Notarial deeds and land deeds made by a PPAT need the official in person | Indonesia |
| Philippines | Electronic Commerce Act of 2000 (RA 8792); Rules on Electronic Evidence | Equivalent to a handwritten signature when reliable and properly linked to the signer | No general certificate requirement | Public instruments such as deeds of sale of land need notarization, which since 2025 can be electronic before an accredited e-notary; wills follow the Civil Code | Philippines |
| Japan | Act on Electronic Signatures and Certification Business (Act No. 102 of 2000) | Most contracts need no particular form; a qualifying signature by the person gets the same presumption as a seal or handwritten signature | Cloud witness-type services can qualify if they meet the 2020 conditions | Wills and a few other acts need a notary, a special procedure or handwriting | Japan |
| Turkey | Electronic Signature Law No. 5070 (2004) | A secure electronic signature (güvenli e-imza) equals a handwritten one; simple signatures are valid for contracts with no form requirement but carry less weight | Secure e-imza is based on a qualified certificate from a BTK-supervised provider | Transactions with an official form, such as property sales at the land registry, and guarantee agreements, apart from bank letters of guarantee and insurers' surety bonds | Turkey |
| United Arab Emirates | Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 | A contract keeps its validity when electronic; any form of electronic signature may be used unless another law says otherwise | A QES from a TDRA-approved provider equals a handwritten signature | DIFC and ADGM have their own laws and exclude powers of attorney and wills (ADGM also long property leases and notarised documents) | UAE |
| Saudi Arabia | Electronic Transactions Law (Royal Decree M/18 of 1428H, 2007) | An electronic signature made in line with the law satisfies a signature requirement; electronic records are admissible | Government and regulated processes use their own systems with Nafath login | Personal status transactions and the issuing of real estate deeds, unless the authority allows them electronically, which the Ministry of Justice now does through Najiz | Saudi Arabia |
| South Africa | Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 | Where the parties require a signature, any method that identifies the signer and shows approval | Where a law requires a signature, only an advanced electronic signature from an accredited provider | Agreements to sell land, long leases of land, wills and bills of exchange are excluded, so a house sale agreement is signed in ink | South Africa |
| Nigeria | Evidence Act 2011, section 93 (2023 amendment adds digital signatures); Cybercrimes Act 2015, section 17 | An electronic signature satisfies a rule of evidence that requires a signature, and is binding for purchases and other transactions | No general certificate requirement | Wills, birth and death certificates, family-law matters, court documents, utility cancellations and some safety notices are excluded; sealed deeds such as land documents are usually on paper | Nigeria |
How to use the table for one document
- Find the country whose law governs the document. For a contract that is usually written into it; for a deed or a will it is where the property or the person is.
- Read the last column first. If the document is on that list, stop: it needs paper, a witness or a notary, and no platform changes that.
- If it is not, read the certificate column. A document that the law says must be in "written form" or "signed" in the strict sense often needs the certificate-based kind, and a signing link is not enough.
- Everything else is an everyday contract, and a simple or advanced electronic signature is fine. What matters then is proof: who signed, when, and that the file was not changed afterwards.
The documents that are special almost everywhere
Four kinds of document come up in nearly every row, so each has a page of its own that goes country by country:
- Wills: still on paper in most places, with a witness.
- Leases and rental agreements: usually fine electronically, except long leases of land in some countries.
- Employment contracts: usually fine, with the German dismissal rule as the big exception.
- Property deeds and sale contracts: the one most often excluded, or sent to a notary.
Two more questions sit behind the table: digital or electronic, which does the law want, and is a signature from an online platform binding.
What this means for a document you are sending today
For an everyday contract, Request Signatures does what most laws ask of an advanced signature: each person signs from their own link, the record says who signed, when and from where, and the finished file is sealed with a timestamp so later changes show. Nobody who signs needs an account.
For a document that needs the certificate-based kind, Digital Signature signs with your own certificate, including one on a USB token or smart card, and can add the timestamp and validation data that long-term archives ask for. How to get a certificate in your country explains where those come from.
Whichever kind arrives from the other side, Verify Signature tells you whether the file is intact, who signed it and whether the certificate is on the EU trusted lists or Adobe's list. There is a page for checking a signed document from your country too.
Common questions
Is an electronic signature legal everywhere?
In every country on this page, an electronic signature is recognised in law and a contract does not fail only because it was signed electronically. The differences are in which kind of signature a given document needs and in the short list of documents, usually wills, land and anything that must go before a notary, that still need paper.
Which countries require a qualified or digital signature?
None requires it for every document. Several require it for particular documents: Germany where the law demands Schriftform, Italy for property transfers and the contracts in article 1350 of the Civil Code, Brazil for real-estate and registry acts, South Africa where a law requires a signature, Turkey for a signature with the full effect of a handwritten one, and Indonesia for high-risk transactions. The table has the row for each.
Are signatures made on an online platform accepted?
Yes, for ordinary contracts, in every country here. A platform signature is a simple or advanced electronic signature, which is what most contracts need. It is not the certificate-based kind, so it does not satisfy a law that specifically asks for a qualified or digital signature.
How often is this table updated?
The review date at the top says when the rows were last checked against the country pages. Each country page says the same for its own facts. If you know a law has changed, the country page is the one to read, and we would like to hear about it.