Legal Validity of Signatures

Causfy offers three signature levels, depending on how the signer is identified: basic signature (the email is confirmed), verified identity (identity document and selfie at the moment of signing) and certified identity (an official channel of the country: digital identity wallet, digital certificate or identity card with chip).

No electronic signature can be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic. What changes depending on the country and the method is which legal category it receives and, with it, how much weight it carries as evidence.

The maximum value, the same as a handwritten signature, is reached only through an official channel: in the European Union, with the identity card with chip or with a digital identity wallet backed by a qualified provider.

Official petitions have their own rules and usually accept only each country’s official electronic identification.

1.1. Basic signature. It is confirmed that the signer controls the email, with a one-time code. The name is declared by the signer and is not checked. It proves that whoever signed controlled that email and when they signed.

1.2. Verified identity. Only for people aged 18 or over. At the moment of signing, and with their explicit consent, Causfy checks the signer’s identity with their identity document and a selfie, on a machine of its own with no internet connection. It does not keep the images or any template of the face, and the check serves only for that signature. It proves who signs.

1.3. Certified identity. The signer identifies themselves through an official channel of their country, without leaving Causfy: a digital identity wallet, a digital certificate or their identity card with chip. The identification is performed by the authority or the provider that issued that credential.

1.4. At all levels, the Certificate attests that the signature took place, when, and that the document has not been altered since, and states the method used and, where there is one, the authority that identified the signer.

2.1. The legal category of each level under the law of each country or region:

2.2. What each category means. “Electronic signature” or “simple”: it is valid as evidence and cannot be denied effect for being electronic, but whoever disputes it may demand proof of who signed. “Advanced”: it is uniquely linked to the signer and makes it possible to detect any subsequent change; it carries more weight as evidence. “Qualified”, “digital signature” or “equivalent to handwritten”: by law it has the same value as a handwritten signature, and whoever disputes it has to prove that it is not valid.

2.3. Where each official channel is offered. The European digital identity wallet arrives country by country as each State rolls it out. Chip cards are valid in Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Belgium, Croatia and Czechia. Apple and Google Wallet, in the participating states of the United States. Whoever cannot identify themselves through an official channel signs with verified identity or with a basic signature, depending on what the cause requires. Certified identity can be used by anyone aged 16 or over who holds a valid credential issued in their name; if the cause is to be submitted as an official petition, check beforehand the age the body requires.

3.1. The European Citizens’ Initiative, the Spanish Popular Legislative Initiative and their equivalents in other countries have their own rules, laid down by law, on who may sign and how it is checked. They usually accept only each country’s official electronic identification.

3.2. If your cause is of that kind, require the certified identity level and check beforehand with the receiving body which identification channels it accepts.

4.1. This table is reviewed when a law changes or when an official channel is added in a country. The date of the last review is in the header.

4.2. Questions about this page are sent through the contact form at causfy.com. The details of the party responsible are set out in the Legal Notice.