Electronic signature
Standards & countries
What the signatures produced by WeDoc are worth legally, which standards they rely on, and with which identity cards they can be produced.
The framework: the European eIDAS regulation
The eIDAS regulation (EU No 910/2014) governs electronic signatures across the European Union and the European Economic Area. Its principle is simple: an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic. It defines three levels, of which WeDoc implements the two highest.
| Level | How WeDoc produces it | Legal value |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced (AES) | Handwritten signature applied in the document, explicit consent and a one-time code sent by email, all recorded in a time-stamped evidence file. | Admissible across the EU; its evidential weight is assessed from the elements gathered. |
| Qualified (QES) | Signature produced with the qualified certificate of the signer's identity card and their PIN, the private key never leaving the card. | Equivalent to a handwritten signature across the EU (article 25.2 of the regulation). |
The technical standards applied
- PAdES (ETSI EN 319 142) — the signature is embedded in the PDF itself: any reader can display and check it, without depending on WeDoc.
- Time-stamping — every step is dated and recorded; the signing date is part of the signed data.
- Electronic seal — the final document is sealed, making any later modification detectable.
- European trust lists — a qualified certificate's validity is checked against the official lists published by the European Commission.
- Independent verification — anyone can upload a signed PDF on our public verification page to confirm its authenticity and integrity.
With which identity cards
A qualified signature assumes the signer's identity card carries a signing certificate. That is not the case everywhere — hence the table below.
| Country | Qualified signature by card | What to plan for |
|---|---|---|
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | Yes — validated in real conditions | Card reader + WeDoc Connect |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | Yes | Reader + the country's official middleware + WeDoc Connect |
| 🇵🇹 🇪🇪 🇱🇻 🇱🇹 🇫🇮 🇦🇹 and other countries with a signing card | Depending on the card and its generation | The country's official middleware; to be validated together before rollout |
| 🇫🇷 France · 🇳🇱 Netherlands · 🇩🇪 Germany | No — the card carries no signing certificate | Advanced signature by email code, valid across the EU |
In every case the advanced signature by email code remains available: it needs no reader, no card and no installation, and works from any country.
Good to know
- The signature level is chosen document by document: require the identity card for an important deed, and settle for the email code on a quote.
- The evidence file is kept for ten years and survives the deletion of the signer's account, in line with our retention obligations.
- WeDoc is published by BKH Tech BV (Belgium); hosting and data stay in Europe.
A question about a country or a specific case? Write to us — we answer precisely rather than claiming lightly.