Skip to main content
arrow-left Back to Docusign.com
Solved

eIDAS compliance for simple electronic signatures

M
Newcomer
Forum|alt.badge.img+1

Hello,

 

As far as I know, simple electronic signatures are compliant under eIDAS, according to this article (in French) and the following quote.

Electronic signatures are actively in use in Europe, and Docusign eSignatures are compliant with eIDAS and EU electronic signature technical standards.

 

Yet when I check a file with the signature verification tool of the European Union, I get the below error:

 

Here is the signer information I retrieve from the PDF:

 

Signer
Email Address: enterprisesupport@docusign.com
Common Name: DocuSign, Inc.
Organizational Unit Name: Technical Operations
Organization: DocuSign, Inc.
City Name: San Francisco
State/Province Name: California
Country Code: US

Signing Certificate Issuer
Common Name: Entrust Class 3 Client CA - SHA256
Organizational Unit Name: (c) 2015 Entrust, Inc. - for authorized use only
Organizational Unit Name: See www.entrust.net/legal-terms
Organization: Entrust, Inc.
Country Code: US

Associated Information:

Digitally verifiable PDF exported from www.docusign.com

The signing certificate's certification chain is incorrect.

 

The document was signed using an identity verification workflow (with only Phone Authentication activated), but it looks like the signer/certificate issuers are based in the US which could cause the issue?

Only Docusign.fr is listed in the trusted partners for eIDAS: https://eidas.ec.europa.eu/efda/trust-services/browse/eidas/tls/tl/FR/tsp/10

 

Can anyone help me ensure the signature is compliant with eIDAS? I believe I neither need Advanced nor Qualified Electronic Signature in my case. 

Best answer by Melanie.Panguito

Hello ​@marwann,

You're welcome! Simple signatures comply with eiDAS regulation on "simple signatures, " a signature without a digital certificate. For the Advanced level (level 2) it's AES. For the Qualified level (level 3, most secure) it is QES. You can check more information here: Q&A: What is eIDAS, anyway? > Can you tell us a bit more about the different types of signatures that can be used and when they are applicable?

If you're considering sending using AES or QES, you can engage with your Account team, as it is an add-on in all plans. If you don't have an Account Team and instead have a Web account, you can reach out to Sales for assistance here: Contact the Docusign Sales Team | We're Here to Help

I hope this is helpful. Let us know if you need further assistance. Thank you!

 

Best regards,

Melanie | Docusign Community Moderator

"Select as Best" below if you find the answer a valid solution to your issue.

View Original
Jerry.Withers
1 person likes this
  • Jerry.Withers
    Jerry.Withers
Is this content helpful?

6 replies

M
Newcomer
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • marwannNewcomer
  • Author
  • Newcomer
  • 3 replies
  • April 1, 2025

Anyone facing the same issue?

M
Community Moderator
Forum|alt.badge.img+9

Hello ​@marwann,

Thank you for reaching out, and a warm welcome to the Docusign Community! We are absolutely delighted to have you here and can't wait to share our knowledge with you.

I understand you are getting an error when validating the PDF file using the signature verification tool of the European Union. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Rest assured, we're here to work together and sort this out for you.

If on the envelope what was used is "Identity verification workflow (with only Phone Authentication activated)" then it doesn't have a digital signature associated with the workflow (QES), which would pass the validation. Please see articles: Types of Digital Signature: AES, QES, SES, explained and Sending a Document Using a Qualified Electronic Signature. You can send me a private message with the envelope ID so we can check if it has QES configured on this (IDnow or IDVQES). Here's how to locate it: Locate a Docusign envelope ID

If it has the QES, the error is expected when validating with Docusign Seal in third-party validators. The Platform Seal is not needed for envelopes using Standards-Based Signatures, as the digital signature is a seal on its own. More information here: Docusign Seal. To resolve this, the sender Account Administrator can remove the platform seal from Admin->Signing Settings->Envelope Download-> Check the "Allow Agreements to download without the Docusign seal." Once the option "Allow agreements to download without the DocuSign seal" in Signing Settings is checked, the file can be downloaded again and validated. Another option is to manually remove the DocuSign seal directly from the PDF. Here's how:

  • Open the document downloaded from the eSignature account in a PDF reader (i.e., Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader).
  • Click on the Signature Panel(Adobe)/Manage Digital Signatures(Foxit) 

rtaImage?eid=ka88Z000000TP6y&feoid=00N1W000003HFev&refid=0EM8Z000008JVNr

 

  • Expand the QES/AES signature, and click on "click to view this version"; the file will open in a new tab.

rtaImage?eid=ka88Z000000TP6y&feoid=00N1W000003HFev&refid=0EM8Z000008JVUT

  •  In the new file, go to Menu/File(on the top left)->and click Save as.
  • Validate again.

Important: Please ensure the files were downloaded separately and not combined. Articles: Download Documents;Download and print a document that you received | eSignature

I hope this is helpful. Let us know if you need further assistance. Thank you!

 

Best regards,

Melanie | Docusign Community Moderator

"Select as Best" below if you find the answer a valid solution to your issue.

M
1 person likes this
  • M
    marwann
M
Newcomer
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • marwannNewcomer
  • Author
  • Newcomer
  • 3 replies
  • April 2, 2025

Hi @Melanie.Panguito,

 

Thank you very much for the detailed answer. Just to be sure, from what I understand in your reply, I do need QES/AES? I thought that simple signatures could also be eIDAS-compliant. Am I wrong?

 

Best,

 

Marwann

M
Community Moderator
Forum|alt.badge.img+9

Hello ​@marwann,

You're welcome! Simple signatures comply with eiDAS regulation on "simple signatures, " a signature without a digital certificate. For the Advanced level (level 2) it's AES. For the Qualified level (level 3, most secure) it is QES. You can check more information here: Q&A: What is eIDAS, anyway? > Can you tell us a bit more about the different types of signatures that can be used and when they are applicable?

If you're considering sending using AES or QES, you can engage with your Account team, as it is an add-on in all plans. If you don't have an Account Team and instead have a Web account, you can reach out to Sales for assistance here: Contact the Docusign Sales Team | We're Here to Help

I hope this is helpful. Let us know if you need further assistance. Thank you!

 

Best regards,

Melanie | Docusign Community Moderator

"Select as Best" below if you find the answer a valid solution to your issue.

M
Newcomer
Forum|alt.badge.img+1
  • marwannNewcomer
  • Author
  • Newcomer
  • 3 replies
  • April 3, 2025

Thank you Melanie, this is pretty helpful information, especially that part: 

Simple signatures comply with eiDAS regulation on "simple signatures, " a signature without a digital certificate

 

Best regards

M
Community Moderator
Forum|alt.badge.img+9

Hello ​@marwann,

You're welcome. Anytime you have questions, you can post them here in the Community. Have a great day!

 

Best regards,

Melanie | Docusign Community Moderator

"Select as Best" below if you find the answer a valid solution to your issue.

Reply


Most helpful members this week

Code of Conduct

Docusign Community

Code of Conduct