eSignature Legality Guide

Standard electronic signatures (SES) are generally suitable for the following scenarios:

• HR documents such as standard employment contracts, NDAs, employee invention agreements, privacy notices, benefits forms, and other onboarding paperwork for new employees, except for termination notices
• Commercial contracts between companies, including non-disclosure agreements, purchase orders, order confirmations, invoices, procurement documents, sales contracts, distribution agreements, and service agreements
• Consumer contracts (excluding consumer loan agreements), such as new retail account opening forms, sales terms, service terms, software licenses, purchase orders, order confirmations, invoices, shipping documents, user manuals, and policies
• Residential and commercial lease contracts
• Software license agreements
• Copyright, patent, and trademark licenses
• Transfers of intangible assets (e.g., assignments of patents or copyrights)

Certain use cases are either expressly excluded from digital or electronic processes, or require specific formalities such as handwritten (wet ink) signatures or notarization, which are generally not compatible with electronic signatures or digital transaction management.

• Notarization – contracts and deeds for real property transfers
• Handwritten – application documents required under the Land Expropriation Act, Construction Act, Sand and Gravel Excavation Act, Factory Management Act, and certain other administrative regulations
• Handwritten – securities transactions and listing documents required by the Financial Supervisory Commission under the Securities Transaction Act, Merger and Acquisition Act, and Regulations Governing the Administration of Shareholder Services of Public Companies (see Ruling dated August 17, 2016 No. 10500309771 by the Financial Supervisory Commission)
• Handwritten – insurance contract notices and supporting documents for insurance claims required by the Financial Supervisory Commission under the Insurance Law (see Ruling dated March 31, 2016 No. 10502561091 by the Financial Supervisory Commission)
• Handwritten – documents related to the issuance and amendment of passports by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Handwritten – service agreements for foreign workers providing home care services
• Notarization – contracts involving the transfer, creation, or modification of rights over real property must be notarized by a notary public (Article 166-1 of the Civil Code, though this article is not yet in effect)

[1] According to Article 2(3) of the ESA, a “digital signature” (“DS”) refers to an electronic signature created using a mathematical algorithm or other method to generate a specific length of digital data, encrypted with the signatory’s private key and verifiable by the public key. This is similar to the Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) in Europe.

[2] Under Article 10 of the ESA, a digital signature certificate (“DSC”) is required when a digital signature is used in an electronic record where the law or regulations require a handwritten signature or seal (see Article 9 of the ESA). With the other party’s consent, an electronic signature is allowed if the digital signature meets the following criteria: (a) it is supported by a certificate from a certification-service-provider whose certification practice statement is approved by the Taiwan government; and (b) the certificate is valid and not used beyond its permitted scope. The DSC is comparable to the Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) in Europe.