Are electronic signatures legal in Norway?

eIDAS through the EEA Agreement

Section 1 of the Lov om elektroniske tillitstjenester (LOV-2018-06-15-44) says the regulation referred to in Annex XI of the EEA Agreement, Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services, applies as Norwegian law, with the adaptations that follow from the agreement. The act took effect on 15 June 2018 and repealed Norway's 2001 Electronic Signatures Act (lov 15. juni 2001 nr. 81).

That brings eIDAS article 25 into Norwegian law. An electronic signature can't be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence because it's electronic or not qualified, and a qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one. Supervision of trust service providers established in Norway is set out in the act itself (§ 3).

Choosing a level

• Simple: right for form-free agreements like quotes, orders and service contracts, backed by a record of who signed.
• Advanced: uniquely linked to the signer and able to identify them, under their sole control, and showing any change made after signing.
• Qualified: required only where a law or a counterparty calls for a signature equal to a handwritten one.

Wills need witnesses

Under section 42 of the Inheritance Act (arveloven, LOV-2019-06-14-21), a will must be in writing and signed by the testator. Two witnesses attest the signature: the testator signs or acknowledges the signature while the witnesses are present, together or one at a time, and the witnesses, who must know the document is a will, sign while the testator is present. Witnesses must be 18 or older and meet the act's impartiality rules. An e-signature platform can't satisfy that.

Other formal steps, such as registering title to property in the land register or lodging court documents, follow the requirements of the authority receiving them. Check with Kartverket or the relevant court before assuming an ordinary e-signature will be accepted.

Where SignMaster fits

SignMaster provides simple electronic signatures for the agreements Norwegian businesses sign every day: quotes (tilbud), service contracts, purchase orders, consulting agreements and NDAs. It doesn't create qualified signatures. Each completed envelope produces a certificate of completion with every signer's email, IP address and timestamps, and the PDF's SHA-256 fingerprint shows whether it changed later.