E-Signature Regulations

Does your jurisdiction maintain a list of trusted entities to qualify e-signatures?

List of approved QES-level service providers is maintained by Traficom. There is one approved qualified electronic signature tool: Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s organizational, citizen and professional health care certificates. In real estate registration matters, the only acceptable signing service is the Real Estate Exchange service. AES-level electronic signature services are provided by multiple private companies and most public authorities accept these strong authentications

Please provide a quick overview of the law, i.e., types of contracts that qualify for use with e-signature.

E-signature is legal and as binding as a handwritten signature and for example commercial agreements, employment contracts, minutes, administrative decisions and financial statements may be signed electronically. There are very few exceptions in which Finnish law requires a document to be signed by a handwritten signature. However, the authentication level of the electronic signature sets some limits to use of electronic signature.

What is the legality of e-signatures in your jurisdiction? Are there key exceptions?

In Finland, handwritten signatures are only required to ensure a contract is legally binding if separately provided by law i.e., usually written, electronic or verbal agreements are all equally binding. Real estate sale and purchase agreement, estate distribution, partition of property and some other family and inheritance related contract documents (for example a will) cannot be signed electronically.

What is the e-signature law enforceable in your jurisdiction?

The Act on Strong Electronic Identification and Electronic Trust Services sets forth the basic-level regulation on the strong electronic identification services. Also, the Act on Electronic Services and Communication in the Public Sector and the Act on the Population Information System and the Certificate Services of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency affect e-signatures in Finland. The above-mentioned Finnish legislation has been harmonized with eIDAS.