This page lists all applicable texts with their exact references and links to official sources. All our commercial claims are verifiable.
European Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of 23 July 2014, known as the eIDAS Regulation, harmonizes electronic signatures across all EU member states. It defines three signature levels:
Only the qualified signature benefits from a presumption of reliability and is legally equivalent to a handwritten signature across the entire Union (Article 25.2 of the Regulation).
Article 25.2 of the eIDAS Regulation:
"A qualified electronic signature shall have the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature."
"When the act is executed electronically, the signature must be applied through a process compliant with the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014."
This article requires a qualified electronic signature for filings on the INPI single-window in sensitive cases: company creation, dissolution, modification, trademark filing, patent filing. A simple or advanced signature is legally insufficient.
"The signature necessary to perfect a legal act identifies its author. It manifests his consent to the obligations resulting from this act. […] When electronic, it consists of the use of a reliable identification process guaranteeing its link with the act to which it attaches."
This founding text of French law enshrines the legal value of electronic signatures. Combined with the eIDAS Regulation and Decree No 2017-1416, it positions the qualified signature as the procedural and legal equivalent of the handwritten signature in French courts.
"Each Member State shall establish, maintain and publish a trusted list, including information related to qualified trust service providers as well as information related to the qualified trust services provided by them."
Our partner Qualified Trust Service Provider is listed on the EU Trusted List. You can verify their status directly on the official Commission site: eidas.ec.europa.eu/efda/tl-browser
"The reliability of an electronic signature process shall be presumed, until proof to the contrary, when this process implements a qualified electronic signature."
This decree transposes the technical requirements of the eIDAS Regulation into French law. It establishes the presumption of reliability: in case of dispute before a court, it is up to the contesting party to prove that the qualified signature is not valid — not the other way around.
Certif Europe processes only the personal data strictly necessary for certificate issuance: identity, email, document to sign. All data is hosted in the European Union. See our privacy policy for details.
European technical standard defining requirements for Qualified Trust Service Providers issuing electronic signature certificates. Our partner QTSP is annually audited against this standard by an accredited compliance body, in accordance with Article 17 of the eIDAS Regulation.
Since 1 January 2023, the INPI single-window has replaced all French Centres de Formalités des Entreprises (CFE). For sensitive acts, the qualified signature is mandatory:
All our commercial claims are verifiable on independent official sources:
For full transparency, here is what we are not:
We are an online service simplifying access to a qualified signature certificate issued by a partner QTSP compliant with the eIDAS Regulation.