eSignature Legality Guide

None.

Standard Electronic Signatures are generally suitable for the following types of documents:

• Human resources documents, such as employment contracts, NDAs, employee invention agreements, benefits forms, and other onboarding paperwork
• Commercial contracts between companies, including NDAs, purchase orders, order confirmations, invoices, procurement documents, sales and distribution agreements, and service contracts
• Consumer contracts, such as new account opening forms, sales and service terms, software licenses, purchase orders, order confirmations, invoices, shipping documents, user manuals, and policies (excluding consumer loan agreements)
• Commercial and many residential lease agreements (except for certain termination notices)
• Software license contracts
• Intellectual property licenses, including those for patents, copyrights, and trademarks
• Transfers of intangible property (e.g., assignments of patents or copyrights)

Certain documents are specifically excluded from digital or electronic processes, or require handwritten (wet ink) signatures or formal notarization, which are generally not compatible with electronic signatures or digital transaction management:

• Notarization - contracts for the purchase or transfer of real estate (Article 1033 GCC)
• Notarization - grants or donations (Article 496 GCC)
• Notarization - residential leases exceeding 9 years (Article 618 GCC)
• Handwritten - surety contracts, where notarization is required if the surety is ancillary to a contract needing a notarial deed, such as real estate purchases (Article 849 GCC)
• Notarization - civil partnership agreements, as required by Article 1 of Law 3719/2008
• Notarization - voluntary child recognition (Articles 1475-1476 GCC)
• Handwritten - certain succession deeds, such as wills (Articles 1721 or 1724 GCC)
• Notarization - articles of incorporation for limited liability companies (Articles 6, 28 of Law 3190/1955)
• Notarization - assignment of shares in a limited liability company (EPE form) (Articles 6, 28 of Law 3190/1955)
• Articles of incorporation for establishing a Societe Anonyme

[1] Employers must provide the essential terms of employment in writing, sign them, and deliver them to the employee. However, failure to do so does not invalidate the contract.

[2] An AES, or “advanced electronic signature,” is a type of electronic signature that: (a) is uniquely linked to the signer; (b) can identify the signer; (c) is created using means under the signer’s sole control; and (d) is connected to the data so that any changes can be detected.

[3] A QES is a digital signature that meets specific government standards, uses a secure signature creation device, and is certified as ‘qualified’ by the government or an authorized entity.

As a country with a tiered eSignature legal model, Austria recognizes the QES (Qualified Electronic Signature), which requires independent accreditation by an approved certification authority. While QES is only mandatory for certain transactions, Austria, as an EU member, follows ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) standards for QES technical requirements. Austria is also among the few countries where an AdES (Advanced Electronic Signature) can sometimes substitute for a QES. An AdES does not need approval from a local Austrian certification body but must use digital signature technology and may need to meet certain ETSI standards. Austria, along with other EU countries, maintains a public list of authorized qualified electronic certificate providers.