Compliance & jurisdiction coverage
Where FastContracts-signed agreements are recognised as legally equivalent to handwritten signatures, and which signature levels we support in each region.
Last reviewed: April 17, 2026
Coverage at a glance
SES, AES, QES — what they mean
Under eIDAS Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, electronic signatures fall into three tiers of legal assurance. The right tier depends on where the signer is, and what the law says about the record being signed.
SES
Simple Electronic Signature
Any electronic data attached to, or logically associated with, an electronic record that the signer adopts as their signature. Under eIDAS (EU) Regulation 910/2014, a SES cannot be denied legal effect purely because it is electronic. In the US, SES is the default model under the ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. §7001) and UETA — enforceability comes from intent, consent, and attribution rather than certificate tiers.
Typical use
NDAs, internal approvals, low-value commercial contracts, most consumer B2C sign-offs.
AES
Advanced Electronic Signature
Under eIDAS, an AES must be uniquely linked to the signer, capable of identifying them, created under their sole control, and bound to the signed data such that any subsequent change is detectable. FastContracts produces AES-grade signatures through identity-verified ceremonies plus a hash-chained, tamper-evident audit trail on every signing event.
Typical use
Most commercial and HR contracts in the EU, UK, Mexico, Japan, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
QES
Qualified Electronic Signature
An AES created with a qualified signature creation device and backed by a qualified certificate from an EU Trust List QTSP. Under eIDAS Article 25(2), a QES has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature throughout the EU. FastContracts supports QES in EU member states through our qualified trust-service partners.
Typical use
Real-estate transfers, regulated filings, German employment terminations, and other documents where local law mandates a handwritten-equivalent signature.
Jurisdiction coverage
Below is the published coverage map. "Recognised under" refers to the local statute that gives electronic signatures legal effect. "Supported" indicates FastContracts can issue a signature at that level today. For a level marked "Contact us" we have a route but want to confirm scope before making a claim in writing.
Americas
| Jurisdiction | Recognised under | SES | AES | QES | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States US Highest recognised: SES | ESIGN Act | Supported | Supported | Not applicable | Local law recognises electronic signatures as legally equivalent to handwritten for most contracts; no QES equivalent is required. |
Canada CA Highest recognised: SES | PIPEDA | Supported | Supported | Not applicable | Local law recognises electronic signatures as legally equivalent to handwritten for most contracts; no QES equivalent is required. |
Mexico MX Highest recognised: AES | LFEA | Supported | Supported | Contact us | Local statute recognises advanced electronic signatures; higher assurance levels available on request. |
Brazil BR Highest recognised: QES | ICP-Brasil | Supported | Supported | Contact us | Brazilian regulated documents require an ICP-Brasil certified signature — available on request. |
Europe
| Jurisdiction | Recognised under | SES | AES | QES | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Germany DE Highest recognised: QES | eIDAS QES | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
France FR Highest recognised: AES | eIDAS | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
United Kingdom UK Highest recognised: AES | UK eIDAS | Supported | Supported | Contact us | UK QES is governed under a separate UK Trust List post-Brexit — contact us for UK-specific QES evidence. |
Switzerland CH Highest recognised: QES | ZertES | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
Italy IT Highest recognised: QES | eIDAS QES | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
Spain ES Highest recognised: QES | eIDAS QES | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
Netherlands NL Highest recognised: AES | eIDAS | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
Belgium BE Highest recognised: QES | eIDAS QES | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
Austria AT Highest recognised: QES | eIDAS QES | Supported | Supported | Supported | — |
Asia-Pacific
| Jurisdiction | Recognised under | SES | AES | QES | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia AU Highest recognised: SES | ETA 1999 | Supported | Supported | Not applicable | Local law recognises electronic signatures as legally equivalent to handwritten for most contracts; no QES equivalent is required. |
Japan JP Highest recognised: AES | ESA | Supported | Supported | Contact us | Local statute recognises advanced electronic signatures; higher assurance levels available on request. |
Singapore SG Highest recognised: SES | ETA | Supported | Supported | Not applicable | Local law recognises electronic signatures as legally equivalent to handwritten for most contracts; no QES equivalent is required. |
India IN Highest recognised: AES | IT Act 2000 | Supported | Supported | Contact us | Local statute recognises advanced electronic signatures; higher assurance levels available on request. |
Middle East & Africa
| Jurisdiction | Recognised under | SES | AES | QES | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UAE AE Highest recognised: AES | Federal Law 1/2006 | Supported | Supported | Contact us | Local statute recognises advanced electronic signatures; higher assurance levels available on request. |
Saudi Arabia SA Highest recognised: AES | ETL | Supported | Supported | Contact us | Local statute recognises advanced electronic signatures; higher assurance levels available on request. |
South Africa ZA Highest recognised: AES | ECTA 2002 | Supported | Supported | Contact us | Local statute recognises advanced electronic signatures; higher assurance levels available on request. |
Frameworks we align to
FastContracts ceremonies, audit trails, and retention policies are built to the following statutes.
United States — ESIGN Act
15 U.S.C. §§7001 et seq. (2000)
United States — UETA
Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (1999)
European Union — eIDAS
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014
United Kingdom — UK eIDAS
Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Regulations 2016 (as amended)
The audit trail turns a signature into a defensible record
Every signing ceremony writes a sequenced, hash-chained audit log. On each event FastContracts captures the signer's intent to sign, their consent to receive electronic records, the authentication method used for attribution, the IP address and user agent, a UTC millisecond timestamp, and the SHA-256 hash of the exact document rendered to that signer. When the final party signs, the completed PDF is sealed and its hash is chained into the audit log so any later modification is detectable.
That captured evidence — intent, consent, attribution, association, and integrity — is the core of what ESIGN, UETA, and eIDAS require for an electronic signature to be enforceable. It is also what your counterparty (or a court) will ask for if a signature is ever challenged.
Need evidence for your procurement review?
We'll send you our compliance summary, signed-PDF samples with their audit trails, and answers to any jurisdiction-specific questions your legal team has.
Not legal advice
This page describes how FastContracts maps to widely adopted electronic signature frameworks. It is informational only — it is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Whether a particular electronic signature is enforceable depends on the record type, the signing parties, their jurisdictions, and any sector-specific rules (for example HIPAA for protected health information, 21 CFR Part 11 for FDA-regulated records, state e-notarization statutes for notarized documents, and cross-border transfer rules under GDPR).
For the enforceability of your specific contracts, consult a licensed attorney in each relevant jurisdiction. We are happy to provide the technical evidence — ceremony records, audit trails, document hashes — your counsel will need to form an opinion.
Last reviewed: April 17, 2026. Coverage and supported signature levels are reviewed at least quarterly; individual listings may change without notice as providers and trust-service partners are added or retired.