Legally valid across the European Union
Electronic signatures via BuiltSign are legally valid in all EU member states thanks to the eIDAS Regulation and supporting national legislation.
The foundation: eIDAS Regulation (EU 910/2014)
eIDAS is the European regulation that gives electronic signatures legal force in all 27 EU member states. It applies directly, with no national implementation required.
Simple Electronic Signature (SES)
Email-verified link, IP logging, RFC 3161 trusted timestamp, and SHA-256 document hash. Sufficient for the vast majority of commercial documents.
Current levelAdvanced Electronic Signature (AES)
Uniquely linked to the signer and capable of identifying them. Created with data under the signer's sole control, certified by a qualified trust service provider (QTSP).
Coming soonQualified Electronic Signature (QES)
The highest eIDAS level. Legally equivalent to a handwritten signature in all 27 EU member states. Requires a qualified certificate issued by a QTSP.
Coming soonSimple Electronic Signature (SES), including SES+
BuiltSign's baseline SES is reinforced with email link verification, IP logging, RFC 3161 timestamp, and SHA-256 document hash. Adding SMS verification or biometric ID (SES+) significantly raises the evidential weight. The eIDAS classification remains SES because BuiltSign is not yet audited as a QTSP. AES and QES are coming soon via our qualified trust service provider integration.
Recognised by national law
eIDAS takes precedence over national law. But national laws confirm and reinforce it.
Civil Code art. 3:15a
Electronic signatures carry the same legal force as written ones, provided eIDAS requirements are met.
Law of 21 July 2016
Fully implements eIDAS into Belgian law. Electronic signatures are legally recognised and the SES threshold applies for most commercial contracts.
Vertrauensdienstegesetz (VDG)
The German eIDAS implementation act recognises electronic signatures as legally valid for most documents. Written form exceptions still require QES.
Evidential value in court
In a dispute, it is not enough that someone signed. You need to prove it. BuiltSign records this automatically.
Email address verified
The signer opened the unique link sent to their email address. Recorded with a timestamp.
IP address logged
The IP address at the time of signing is recorded and included in the certificate.
Timestamp
Exact date and time of every action, including opening the document and placing the signature.
Identity verification (optional)
With ID verification enabled: government ID and selfie automatically matched to the signer. The strongest form of evidence in a dispute.
How BuiltSign identifies the signer
Courts weigh evidence, not eIDAS labels. Every BuiltSign signature starts with a strong baseline. Optional add-ons raise the bar further.
- Email-verified unique signing link
- IP address at time of signing
- RFC 3161 trusted timestamp (DigiCert)
- SHA-256 cryptographic document hash
- Everything in Standard
- One-time code sent to verified phone number
- Proves: signer controls the registered device
- Everything in Standard + SMS
- Government-issued ID scan (passport or national ID)
- Real-time selfie biometric match
- Result recorded in the audit certificate
All tiers are classified as Simple Electronic Signatures (SES) under eIDAS. Adding SMS or biometric verification does not change the eIDAS classification, but significantly increases evidential weight, making disputes in court virtually impossible.
When do you actually need a notary?
BuiltSign covers the vast majority of business documents. But for certain legal acts, a notarial deed is required by law:
- Wills and inheritance
- Transfer of real estate (notarial deed)
- Articles of incorporation (LLC/Ltd)
- Mortgage deed
For everything else, including employment contracts, NDAs, tenancy agreements, service agreements, and purchase contracts, a BuiltSign signature is fully legally valid.
Common legal questions
- Yes. Thanks to eIDAS, a BuiltSign signature is legally valid in all 27 EU member states, including Belgium and Germany.
- The audit trail shows exactly when, from which IP address, and via which email address the signature was placed. With identity verification there is also a verified ID document. This makes disputes virtually impossible.
- An electronic signature has no expiry date in principle. As long as the audit trail and certificate are preserved, the signature remains provably valid.
- Yes. Employment contracts are not among the exceptions and can be fully and legally signed digitally via BuiltSign.
- The audit trail records every action: who opened the link, from which IP address, at what time, and when the signature was placed. With identity verification enabled, it also contains a verified match between the signer's government ID and selfie.