The DIGITAL eSignature Building Block allows public administrations, businesses, and citizens to electronically sign any document, anywhere in Europe, at any time, in line with the eIDAS Regulation for e-signatures, e-seals and related services offered by Trust Service Providers.
The eIDAS Regulation defines three e-signature levels, basic, advanced and qualified e-signatures: qualified e-signatures meet high standards of security and are legally equivalent to handwritten signatures. It also distinguishes between e-signatures for use by natural persons and e-seals for use by legal persons (e.g. businesses).
By aiding compliance with the eIDAS Regulation, the eSignature Building Block fosters technical and legal cross-border interoperability between the electronic signature services of different countries in Europe. This makes it easier for citizens to access digital services abroad, such as remotely opening a bank account, applying for a study grant, registering a vehicle or being awarded a diploma online.
The DIGITAL eSignature Building Block provides the following services to help public administrations, businesses and citizens adopt eSignature:
- DSS open-source library: open-source software, services, documentation and tools to help you build your own eIDAS-compliant eSignature solution
- Trusted List Browser: a publicly available tool to search for your provider of qualified certificates for e-signing, e-sealing or website authentication by browsing Member States' trusted lists and the European Commission list of trusted lists
- eSignature validation tests to test the conformance of your solution to the eIDAS Regulation and related standards
