eSignature Legality in Israel

emSigner Supports Following Use Cases for Standard Electronic Signatures (SES)

• Software license agreements
• Copyright licenses
• Employment contracts, non-disclosure agreements, employee invention agreements
• Commercial agreements between corporate entities including non-disclosure agreements, purchase orders, order acknowledgements, invoices, other procurement documents, sales agreements, distribution agreements, service agreements and others
• Consumer agreements including new retail account opening documents, sales terms, services terms, purchase orders, order confirmations, user manuals, policies and others
• Residential and commercial lease agreements up to a period of 5 years
• Trademark licenses and intangible property transfers including patent and copyright assignments
• Most corporate documents, including written resolutions of the board of directors of a company

Use Cases That Are Not Supported or Typically Not Appropriate for Electronic Signatures or Digital Transaction Management Using emSigner

Following are the use cases that are specifically not supported for digital or electronic processes or that includes requirements wherein wet ink or handwritten signatures or formal notarization is required.

• Handwritten wills
• Affidavits
• Debentures (security agreement)
• Registration forms, documents and notices submitted to Regulators, e.g. the Pledges Registry and the Companies Registrar
• Certain types of entities/ financial institutions like such as banks may favor wet ink, handwritten signatures instead of electronic signatures. The Israeli law allows the use of simple or secure electronic signatures in all other cases, provided that wherever required, and by the law, the signature must fulfill sufficient degree of certainty, the purposes of the requirement. This vague standard could be subjected to amendments or rejection by courts in the future

General Definitions

Simple Electronic Signature (SES)

A Simple Electronic Signature (SES) refers to any electronic data that is logically associated with other electronic data and used by a person to sign. This can include:

• Typing a name at the end of an email,
• Clicking an “I accept” button,
• Pasting a scanned image of a signature, or
• Using a stylus or finger to draw a signature on a touchscreen.

While SES can indicate intent to sign, it lacks advanced identity verification, integrity protection, or security features, making it the least secure type of electronic signature. It is legally valid in many jurisdictions but may not carry strong evidentiary weight without additional context or proof.

Advanced Electronic Signature (AES)

An Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) is a more secure form of electronic signature that must meet the following criteria:

• it is uniquely linked to the signatory
• it is capable of identifying the signatory
• it is created using means that are under the sole control of the signatory, and
• it is linked to the signed data in such a way that any subsequent change in the data is detectable.

AES provides enhanced legal reliability compared to SES and is often supported by multi-factor authentication, encryption, and audit trails.

Qualified Electronic Signature (QES)

A Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) is a type of Advanced Electronic Signature that additionally:

• is created using a qualified signature creation device (such as a secure token or smart card); and
• is backed by a qualified digital certificate issued by a recognized or accredited trust service provider.

QES provides the highest level of trust and legal assurance, and in many jurisdictions (like the EU under eIDAS, India IT Act, etc), it holds the same legal status as a handwritten signature.

Digital Signature

A Digital Signature is a specific technological implementation of an electronic signature that uses asymmetric cryptography. It allows a verifier to:

• confirm that the signature was created using the private key corresponding to the signer’s public key; and
• ensure that the signed message or document has not been altered after signing.

Digital signatures are the underlying cryptographic mechanism used in both AES and QES. They offer strong security guarantees such as authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation and are often implemented through Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems.

External Resources