European electronic signature software

Electronic signature software lets people sign documents digitally instead of printing, signing and scanning. In the European Union the legal ground is the eIDAS Regulation, which recognises three levels: a simple electronic signature, an advanced one where the signer is identifiable and tampering is detectable, and a qualified signature issued through a trust service provider and treated as equivalent to handwriting. Switzerland has a comparable basis in ZertES.

Since eIDAS is European law, it makes sense that the provider carrying your signed contracts answers to it directly. Skribble, Yousign and Autenti are European names in this category. Anyone shopping for a European alternative to a US e-signature tool should confirm which signature level a provider actually delivers, and whether signed documents and audit trails can be downloaded and kept independently.