Does electronic signature using Adobe DC meet EU directive eIDAS Regulation

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
May 22, 2020
3 replies
1519 views

Hi,

I want to use electronic signature software for documents but without having to buy Adobe Sign (sorry Adobe ;-/). I have discovered that by using the 'Prepare Form' function on Adobe DC I can add an electronic signature that I seem to be able to 'validate' and 'generate a certificate' to support, however what I need to know is if that meets the requirements of the EU directive - eIDAS Regulation.

I am not referring to the 'Fill and Sign' function.

Many thanks for any advice.

Roshambo

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R

Roshambo2Author

Participant

Hi,

Test_Screen_Name that's a really helpful response. I appreciate that there is a legal aspect to this and I will need to look into to what extent the system I am using enables the receiver to verify my identity. It seems that I am self-certifying using Windows Certificate Store which probably isn't acceptable.

It looks inevitable that I will have to pay for something compliant.

Many thanks,

Roshambo

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

I have been through the process of getting certificates (different kinds) and I can agree it is expensive and annoying; waiting for calls to verify my ID, verifying my company is in business directories etc. etc. Tip: there are multiple kinds of certificates. For example SSL (for web sites), code signing (for programmers). What you probably want (but don't take my word for it) is a "document signing" certificate. There are far fewer choices here, it seems to me. Using the wrong kind of certificate may partially work but fail later!

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

Well, you will know that a forum cannot give you an opinion that is professional or qualified. For that you would need to pay a suitable professional. However, I can share what five minutes' looking into this suggests to me. This directive is about proving identity. Now, you generated a certificate, you say. Did you have to prove your identity to anyone to do this? In a legally binding way? If not, this isn't going to meet the needs of the directive which states: "

Qualified electronic signatures must:

be offered by a qualified trust service provider;
meet the specific requirements for an advanced signature;
be created using a qualified creation device; and
be supported by a qualified certificate."

So, you need to buy a high level trust certificate. I imagine it will come with a hardware device. Once you have one, PERHAPS you can create compliant documents with Reader. Expect to pay a few hundred euros for such a certificate. But really, I suggest a lot more research, you could throw money at this and not meet the requirements.