Are electronic signatures legal in Ireland?

The Electronic Commerce Act 2000

Section 13 is the core rule. If a signature is required or permitted, an electronic signature may be used. When it's given to a private person or business, that person must consent to receiving an electronic signature; when it goes to a public body, the body may insist on its own published, objective and proportionate technical requirements. Section 19 adds that a contract can't be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability because it was concluded electronically.

The act's definition is wide: data in electronic form attached to, incorporated in or logically associated with other electronic data, which serves to authenticate who it came from (s. 2). Two formalities need more. A signature that must be witnessed, and a document that must be under seal, can be handled electronically only with an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate (ss. 14 and 16).

How eIDAS applies in Ireland

As an EU member, Ireland is bound directly by Regulation 910/2014, known as eIDAS and amended in 2024 by Regulation 2024/1183. Article 25 stops an Irish court from rejecting an electronic signature only because it's electronic or isn't qualified, and gives a qualified electronic signature the same legal effect as a handwritten one across the EU.

• Simple: any electronic signature, from a typed name to a signature drawn on a phone.
• Advanced: uniquely linked to and identifying the signer, under their sole control, with later changes detectable.
• Qualified: an advanced signature from a qualified device, backed by a qualified certificate from a listed trust service provider.

What section 10 excludes

• Wills, codicils and other testamentary instruments under the Succession Act 1965, trusts, and enduring powers of attorney.
• Interests in real property, including leasehold interests: how they're created, acquired, disposed of or registered. Contracts to create, acquire or dispose of those interests are not excluded.
• Affidavits and statutory or sworn declarations.
• The rules, practices and procedures of a court or tribunal.

The Minister can bring an excluded area into the act by regulation (s. 10), and later laws may have changed how some of these documents are made, so check the current position for the specific document before you rely on an electronic version.

Where SignMaster fits

SignMaster suits Irish contracts where both sides are happy to sign electronically: service agreements, supplier terms, letters of engagement and staff paperwork. It provides simple electronic signatures, not advanced or qualified ones, so it can't meet the witnessing and seal rules in sections 14 and 16. Every signer agrees to sign electronically before signing, which records the consent section 13 asks for, and the signed PDF ends with a certificate of completion.