Online signature

An online signature or digital signature has two functions in addition to establishing the will; identity and integrity. Just like the handwritten signature.

First, an online signature establishes the identity of the signers. And second, an online signature ensures that the content of what is signed cannot be changed after signing. This is integrity. Read more about the digital signature.

Legal validity of online signature

An online signature is legally valid if there is a qualified digital signature or an advanced digital signature. In the case of online signing with an ordinary digital signature, the legal validity is hard to find. Especially because the identity of the signers is not guaranteed and the content can still be changed after signing. For qualified digital signatures or advanced digital signatures, a third party is needed that not only provides the software for online signing, but also provides proof of authenticity for the documents signed online. For this they need special certificates, which are (indirectly) issued by the government. Read more about the legal validity of online signing.

Advantages online signature

The online signing of documents has several advantages. The online signature saves costs, think of postage and administration. But an online signature is also fast and efficient. The software for online signing usually has several alerts to the signers and the signing process can be followed in real time. This way, the parties have full control over the entire signing process. Read more about the advantages of online signing.

Other advantages of online signing are the possibility to sign multiple documents at the same time, to have an infinite number of signatories sign one document and the wide variety of authentication means.