One directly-applicable Regulation across 30 countries.
30
countries listed
3
statutory tiers
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS) establishes a single framework for electronic signatures across the European Union, and applies in the EEA states as well. It is a Regulation rather than a Directive, which means it applies directly in each member state without national transposition — so the same three-tier structure holds in every one of them. Article 25 provides that an electronic signature may not be denied legal effect or admissibility solely because it is electronic. Article 26 sets the four requirements an Advanced Electronic Signature must meet, and a Qualified Electronic Signature — the only tier the Regulation gives the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature — additionally requires a qualified certificate from a provider on an EU Trusted List and a qualified signature creation device.
Data in electronic form attached to or logically associated with other data and used by the signatory to sign. Cannot be denied legal effect solely for being electronic (Art. 25).
Must be uniquely linked to the signatory, capable of identifying them, created using data the signatory can use under their sole control with a high level of confidence, and linked to the signed data so that any subsequent change is detectable (Art. 26).
An AdES created by a qualified signature creation device and based on a qualified certificate issued by a trust service provider on an EU Trusted List. Only this tier carries the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature across all member states.
Every statement above traces to one of these. Open any of them.
Placement follows the published source named on each entry, not a reading of every national statute. A country moves to a more specific family only once its own law has been sourced.
Countries with a gold outline have a full page of their own.
General information — not legal advice
This page summarizes electronic signature legislation drawn from primary legal sources and international bodies including UNCITRAL and UNCTAD. It is not legal advice and creates no solicitor–client or attorney–client relationship. Laws change, and how they apply depends on the transaction, the parties, and the document type. Before relying on electronic signatures for a regulated, high-value, or cross-border transaction — or for any document type listed as excluded — take advice from qualified counsel in the jurisdiction whose law governs that transaction. That is a separate question from the governing law of your agreement with SignForge, which is set out in our Terms of Service.
Last reviewed: 10 August 2026