Is a Documentas signature legally binding?

For most everyday agreements, yes. Under eIDAS an electronic signature cannot be refused as evidence just because it is electronic. Documents that require written or notarised form by law are the exception.

Is it a qualified electronic signature?

No. Documentas provides electronic signatures, sealed with a certificate and a trusted timestamp on paid plans. It is neither an advanced (AdES) nor a qualified (QES) electronic signature.

Does Documentas verify the signer’s identity?

No. Signers state their own name, email and ID code. Personal invitations fill these in and lock them, and the audit log records the time and IP address of each step.

Can I sign an employment contract with Documentas?

In most EU countries an employment contract can be signed electronically. Some terms or documents need written form, for example a termination in Germany, so check the rules for your country.

What does the seal prove?

That the PDF has not changed since it was signed, and when it was signed, through a trusted timestamp. It uses a certificate issued to Actual Reports OÜ, so it does not prove the signer’s identity.

Are electronic signatures legally valid?

This page explains the general rules. It is not legal advice. Whether an electronic signature is enough for a specific document depends on the document and the country, so check with your lawyer when it matters.

What a Documentas signature is

Signers open their own link, check their details, read the document, confirm they have understood it and type, draw or upload their signature. Documentas records each step in the audit log with the time and IP address.

On paid plans, each signing is also sealed: Documentas applies a certificate issued to Actual Reports OÜ and a trusted timestamp to the PDF. The seal shows whether the file changed after signing. Documentas calls this a Simple Electronic Signature (SES).

The three levels under eIDAS

The EU eIDAS Regulation (EU 910/2014) defines three levels of electronic signature.

Level	What it requires	Documentas
Electronic signature (Article 3(10))	Data in electronic form that a person uses to sign	Yes: every Documentas signature
Advanced electronic signature, AdES (Article 26)	Uniquely linked to and capable of identifying the signer, under the signer’s sole control	No
Qualified electronic signature, QES (Article 3(12))	An AdES made with a qualified signature device and a qualified certificate, for example a national eID card or Smart-ID	No

The seal on paid plans uses a certificate issued to Actual Reports OÜ, not to the signer, so it proves the file is unchanged rather than who the signer is. Signers state their own identity: Documentas does not verify identity with an eID, a bank ID or a one-time code.

Is it valid in court?

Under eIDAS Article 25(1), an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence in court just because it is electronic or is not qualified. A Documentas signature, the audit log and the seal together give you evidence you can use in court.

How much weight a court gives that evidence depends on the case. Only a QES has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature in every EU country (Article 25(2)).

When a simple electronic signature is usually enough

Non-disclosure agreements
Order confirmations, quotes and service agreements
Engagement letters and statements of work
Consents, waivers and policy acknowledgements
Employment contracts in most EU countries, and most onboarding paperwork
Supplier agreements and most other business-to-business contracts

When it is not enough

Some documents need a specific form by law. A simple electronic signature does not meet a requirement for written form that can only be replaced by a QES, or for a notary. Examples:

Germany: where the law requires written form (Schriftform, §126 BGB), only a QES can replace it (§126a BGB). Termination of employment (§623 BGB) cannot be done electronically at all. Sureties (§766 BGB) and time limits in fixed-term employment contracts (§14(4) TzBfG) also need written form.
Estonia: a transaction that requires written form can be made electronically only with a qualified signature, and transactions that require notarisation, such as property transfers, need a notary.
Everywhere: property deeds, wills, notarised acts and some consumer credit documents usually need a specific form.

United Kingdom

Electronic signatures are admissible as evidence under section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000. The Law Commission’s 2019 report on the electronic execution of documents confirmed that an electronic signature can validly execute most documents, where the signer intends to authenticate them. Deeds and some other documents have extra requirements.

United States

The federal ESIGN Act (2000) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, adopted by most states, give electronic signatures and records the same legal effect as paper for most transactions. Wills, some family law documents and certain notices are excluded.

Australia

The Electronic Transactions Act 1999 and the matching state and territory acts allow electronic signatures where the method identifies the person, shows their intention and is reliable for the purpose. Some documents, such as certain deeds, have their own rules.

Making the evidence stronger

Use personal invitations rather than a public link, so the signer’s name and email are filled in and locked.
Attach your terms as review documents: each acceptance is recorded with time and IP address.
Add your own signatory as a company counterpart, so both sides sign.
Use a paid plan for the certificate seal, which shows any later change to the file.
Keep the signed PDF in Documentas, and check PDFs you receive with signature validation.

Electronic signatures and the law, in plain words.