Are electronic signatures legal in Poland?

Written, electronic and document form

• Written form (art. 78 § 1): a handwritten signature on a document containing the declaration.
• Electronic form (art. 78¹): a declaration in electronic form with a qualified electronic signature. It's equivalent to written form (§ 2).
• Document form (art. 77²): a declaration in the form of a document, made in a way that lets the person making it be identified. A document is any medium that lets its content be read (art. 77³).

A simple electronic signature, such as a signed PDF with a record of who signed, meets document form but not written or electronic form. Poland's Act of 5 September 2016 on trust services and electronic identification supplements eIDAS, under which a qualified electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten one across the EU.

Does the wrong form void the contract?

Usually not. If a statute requires written, document or electronic form, an act made without it is void only if the statute says so (art. 73 § 1); otherwise the main consequence is in proof, since witness testimony about the act may then be inadmissible in a dispute (art. 74). Some contracts carry a document-form requirement of their own, such as a leasing agreement (art. 709²) or a loan above 1,000 zloty (art. 720 § 2).

There's a newer rule worth knowing: if a contract was made in written, document or electronic form, terminating it by mutual consent, withdrawing from it or giving notice requires document form, unless a law or the contract says otherwise (art. 77 § 2). An electronically signed notice therefore usually works.

Notarial deeds and wills

• Real estate. A contract obliging a party to transfer ownership of real property must be made as a notarial deed (art. 158).
• Handwritten wills. A testator can make a will by writing it entirely by hand, signing and dating it (art. 949 § 1).
• Written-form requirements in specific statutes can be met electronically only with a qualified electronic signature.

Where SignMaster fits

SignMaster provides simple electronic signatures, so it meets document form, which covers leasing agreements, loans above 1,000 zloty, notices of termination and most commercial agreements. It doesn't produce the qualified signature needed for electronic form. Every signed PDF carries a certificate of completion with each signer's email, IP address and timestamps, and a SHA-256 fingerprint, which helps show who made the declaration, as article 77² requires.