Introducing easy and secure way to sign with qualified electronic signature in Belgium & The Netherlands

Secure, qualified and eIDAS compliant with DocuSign eSignature and itsme® Sign

DocuSign and itsme® have joined forces to offer qualified electronic signatures in a simple and secure manner for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The solution is secure, reliable and compliant with EU standards for electronic signatures, making it possible for any organisation that transacts with Belgium, the Netherlands or Luxembourg to benefit from the advantages of using e-signatures. 

What are the benefits of electronic signatures?

Agreements are everywhere–from employment contracts and onboarding forms, to invoices and sales contracts. Manual, paper-based processes where printing, scanning and retyping are part of the daily work are prone to errors, time-consuming and cause productivity to drop. Organisations with a paper-dependent signing process spend an average of £30 more per agreement than those that have digitised this process.

With electronic signatures you can:

• Increase security 
• Reduce turnaround times
• Minimise errors
• Improve efficiency
• Save sheets of paper

Electronic signatures in Belgium & the Netherlands

The European standards for electronic signatures are laid down in the eIDAS Regulation. This regulation distinguishes three types of electronic signatures, each with a different level of assurance: electronic, advanced and qualified signatures. 

In Belgium and the Netherlands, "ordinary" electronic signatures are generally accepted for most transactions. However, some important documents and agreements under Belgian and Dutch law require an electronic signature with the highest level of assurance and security—the Qualified Electronic Signature (QES). In the Netherlands and Belgium, a QES is required for many important agreements including employment contracts, corporate documents, tax returns and real estate leases.

Qualified signatures must meet the requirements set out in eIDAS. One of the conditions is that the qualified signing certificate is issued by an EU Qualified Trust Service provider. This certificate guarantees the authenticity of the electronic signature and serves as proof of the identity of the signatory. Thus, each qualified signature has been verified and validated by an accredited party.  

Qualified electronic signatures with DocuSign and itsme® - how it works

On 18 December 2019, itsme® was included in the EU's list for Trust Service Providers and over 2.8 Million Belgian citizens already have the itsme®  app. The integration of itsme® and DocuSign eSignature offers a fast and secure way to sign with QES in a matter of seconds using a signer’s existing itsme® account. 

Watch the quick video below to understand more:

DocuSign eSignature is a fast and secure method of sending, managing and signing agreements digitally - anywhere and from various devices.  More than 1,000,000 customers worldwide already use DocuSign eSignature.

itsme® is a leading EU Qualified Trust Service Provider in Europe, and offers digital identity verification in both Belgium and the Netherlands. In 2021, more than 2.8 million Belgian citizens used an itsme® account to have their identity verified and sign agreements digitally using their Belgian eID or bank card.

The seamless integration of DocuSign eSignature and itsme® Sign allows users to sign and have their documents signed in 6 easy steps with a qualified electronic signature that meets eIDAS requirements. Here's how it works:

1. Prepare your document in DocuSign eSignature
2. In your eSignature sending workflow, select the option to sign with itsme®.
3. Send the agreement to your recipient.
4. The signer receives an email notification to review and sign the agreement on their device of choice.
5. The signer is automatically redirected to access their itsme® app and sign the document with QES after validating their Belgian phone number and further authenticating with their unique pin.
6. All transaction data is stored in a highly secure Certificate of Completion, downloadable in two clicks directly in DocuSign eSignature.