eSignature Legality in Ireland

eSignature Legality Summary

Under the laws of Ireland, a written signature is not necessarily required for a valid contract - contracts are generally valid if legally competent parties reach an agreement, whether they agree verbally, electronically or in a physical paper document. The Electronic Commerce Act 2000 specifically confirms that contracts cannot be denied enforceability merely because they are concluded electronically. To prove that there is a valid contract in place, parties sometimes must present evidence in court. Leading digital transaction management solutions can provide electronic records that are admissible in evidence under the eIDAS Regulation and Section 22 of the Electronic Commerce Act 2000, to support the existence, authenticity and valid acceptance of a contract.

Types of Permitted Electronic Signature

The eIDAS Regulation is technology neutral and defines three types of electronic signature:

• A simple “electronic signature” means data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign (Article 3.10 eIDAS).

• An “advanced electronic signature” is an electronic signature that meets some additional requirements so that a higher level of trustworthiness can be met.

• A “qualified electronic signature” or “digital” signature means an advanced electronic signature that is created by a qualified electronic signature creation device, and which is based on a qualified digital certificate for electronic signatures (Article 3.12 eIDAS). This digital certificate must be issued by a trust service provider that is on a list of qualified trust service providers of an EU member state, and the qualified electronic signature creation device must be certified by an EU member state. A qualified electronic signature is the only electronic signature level to have special legal status in EU member states, being legally recognized as the equivalent of a written signature (Article 25.2 eIDAS).

Article 25(1) provides that an electronic signature shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or does not meet the requirements of a QES. Articles 25(2) and (3) give a QES the same legal effect as a handwritten signature and ensure that a QES recognized in one Member State of the EU is also recognized in other Member States. Finally, Recital 49 allows national law to set requirements regarding which type of electronic signature may be required in which circumstances.

Documents That May be Signed Electronically

Following a recent upgrade to the Irish Companies Registration Office filings system (known as CORE), electronic signatures on a range of filing forms, which previously required wet ink signatures, are now accepted. The Electronic Commerce Act (2000) states that where an electronic signature is used at a public/government body, then the electronic signature must meet any technical and procedural conditions imposed by that public body.

Use cases where an SES is typically appropriate include:

• HR documents, such as employment contracts and other new employee onboarding processes

• commercial agreements between corporate entities, including NDAs, procurement documents, sales agreements

• consumer agreements

• sales documents related to residential and commercial real estate transactions

Use cases where an electronic signature other than SES may be required include:

• QES – document signatures that require a witness, if signer and witness both use it (Section 14 of the E-Commerce Act)

• QES – documents that require execution under seal (Section 16 of the E-Commerce Act)

Further Guidance

Use cases that are specifically barred from digital or electronic processes or that include explicit requirements, such as handwritten (e.g. wet ink) signatures or formal notarial process that are not usually compatible with electronic signatures or digital transaction management, include:

• Handwritten - wills, codicils, trust documents and enduring powers of attorney (Section 10, E-Commerce Act)

• Handwritten - documents governing the manner in which an interest in real property (including a leasehold interest in such property) may be created, acquired, disposed of or registered (Section 10, E-Commerce Act as amended by  the Electronic Commerce Act 2000 (Application of sections 12 to 23 to Registered Land) Regulations 2022 – this requirement applies with respect to registered land unless and until Tailte Eireann (a state agency in Ireland responsible for property registrations, property valuation and national mapping services) issues a determination that such documents can be signed electronically)

• Handwritten - statutory/sworn declarations and affidavits (Section 10, E-Commerce Act)

• Handwritten - documents pertaining to the rules, practices or procedures of a court or tribunal (Section 10, E-Commerce Act)

• Handwritten – documents that cannot be signed electronically as mandated by a relevant public registry. A number of Irish public registries, such as the Companies Registration Office, the Property Registration Authority and the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland require that certain filings with those respective registries be signed using wet-ink signatures only. 

• Handwritten - prescriptions issued by a medical practitioner registered in an EEA state other than Ireland which are presented for dispensing in Ireland (Regulation 7, Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations 2003.

Additionally, as a Tiered eSignature Legal Model country, Ireland supports the concept of a QES (Qualified Electronic Signature), requiring independent accreditation for those signatures by an approved certification body. While QES is only legally required for limited types of transactions, as previously discussed, Ireland, as a member of the European Union, follows ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) standards to define the technical requirements for a QES. In compliance with the eIDAS Regulation, Ireland must maintain a publicly accessible list of supervisory bodies for qualified certificated providers together with other countries in the European Union.  Currently only one certification service provider has notified the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources that qualified certificates issued by it (in relation to a Timestamp Service) meet the requirements of the Electronic Commerce Act 2000. Accordingly, electronic signatures are not commonly used in Ireland for documents under seal or documents that must be witnessed.

Seminal Court Cases

None.