Electronic signature in the public sector: 2026 guide

The digital transformation of the French State has accelerated significantly in recent years, and electronic signature is one of its most structuring regulatory pillars. For public buyers, local authorities and public service operators, the question is no longer whether to adopt electronic signature, but how to remain compliant with a rapidly evolving legal framework. Between obligations arising from the eIDAS regulation, requirements of the Public Procurement Code and new constraints of the NIS2 directive, administrations face a complex normative landscape. This article guides you step by step: required signature levels, scope of obligation, risks in case of non-compliance and best practices for 2026.

Electronic signature in public procurement: a legal obligation since 2020

Since 1 October 2018, then strengthened by the order of 12 April 2018 on electronic signature in public procurement, the dematerialisation of public procurement procedures has become the norm in France. For all contracts whose estimated value is equal to or above the European threshold for formalised procedures — set at 221,000 € ex VAT for supplies and services of local authorities and 5,538,000 € ex VAT for works in 2026 — the use of electronic signature is mandatory for commitment certificates, service orders and subcontracting certificates.

The three levels of eIDAS signature applicable

The eIDAS Regulation No. 910/2014 establishes three levels of electronic signatures, two of which are relevant in public procurement:

• Simple electronic signature (SES): sufficient for routine communications, acknowledgements of receipt or certain internal notifications. It offers no guarantee of strong identity.
• Advanced electronic signature (AES): required for the majority of contractual acts in public procurement. It uniquely identifies the signatory, is linked to the signed data and detects any subsequent modification.
• Qualified electronic signature (QES): the highest level, legally equivalent to a handwritten signature under Article 1367 of the Civil Code. Mandatory for complex works contracts, certain notarial acts and documents with high evidentiary value.

The order of 12 April 2018 specifies that commitment certificates must be signed with at least an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate (hereinafter "AES-QC"), which in practice is close to qualified level.

Dematerialisation platforms (buyer profiles)

Since 1 April 2017, every public buyer must have a dematerialised buyer profile — a tender management platform such as ATEXO, e-Marchés, AWS Market, etc. — to publish its calls for tender above the 40,000 € ex VAT threshold. These profiles must natively integrate an electronic signature module compatible with qualified certificates issued by trust service providers (TSP) referenced on the French trust list (LCR) published by ANSSI.

To learn more about the general operation of these mechanisms, consult our complete guide to electronic signature.

eIDAS 2.0 compliance: what's changing for administrations in 2026

The revision of the eIDAS regulation, known as eIDAS 2.0 (EU Regulation 2024/1183, which came into force in May 2024), introduces several major developments that directly impact French public administrations.

The European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet)

Article 5a of the revised eIDAS regulation requires Member States to offer a European Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI Wallet) to all citizens and legal entities by October 2026. For administrations, this means that online services will have to accept this wallet as a means of authentication and signature. ANSSI is coordinating the French rollout in cooperation with DINUM (Interministerial Digital Management Department), which is driving the programme via the National Agency for Territorial Coherence.

New trust attributes and interoperability

EIDAS 2.0 strengthens cross-border interoperability: a qualified signature affixed by a Belgian or German operator must be recognised without restriction by French platforms. For public buyers entering into contracts with European operators, this development simplifies procedures but requires verifying that the tools used support the new European trust lists (EU Trusted Lists). Our analysis of eIDAS 2.0 regulation details all these developments.

Cybersecurity obligations related to NIS2

The NIS2 directive (transposed into French law by order in March 2025) classifies local authorities with more than 30,000 inhabitants and essential public entities among important entities subject to enhanced security requirements. In practical terms, the electronic signature solution used must:

• Be hosted by a provider certified HDS (Health Data Hosting) for health entities, or SecNumCloud for sensitive State data;
• Have complete and tamper-proof audit logs;
• Be subject to a documented business continuity plan (BCP).

Public acts covered by the obligation to use electronic signature

Beyond public procurement per se, electronic signature is gradually expanding to a very broad scope of administrative acts.

Contractual documents and resolutions

• Public procurement acts: purchase orders, amendments, service orders, reception reports;
• Deliberations of deliberative bodies: since the law No. 2019-1461 of 27 December 2019 (the so-called "Commitment and Proximity Act"), communes can submit their acts for legality control in electronic form signed via the @ctes portal of the DGCL;
• Civil service contracts: contracts for contractual employees in territorial civil service benefit from the presumption of validity of qualified electronic signature.

Tax and budgetary acts

The General Directorate of Public Finance (DGFiP) has required the dematerialised transmission of budgetary documents to local authorities with more than 3,500 inhabitants since 2022. Mandataries can electronically sign revenue bills and payment mandates integrated into accounting systems (Hélios, Chorus Pro).

Cerfa forms and civil status acts

The Public Services + programme (formerly Public Action 2022) aims at complete digitalisation of the 250 most commonly used forms. Several Cerfa — particularly for planning authorisations (building permits, preliminary declarations) — now accept advanced electronic signature from applicants.

If you manage contractual flows in a public structure, our comparison of electronic signature solutions will help you identify the tool best suited to your regulatory constraints.

Choosing a compliant solution for the public sector: essential criteria

Faced with the multiplication of market offerings, public buyers must rely on objective criteria to select their electronic signature provider.

Certification and referencing

The solution must imperatively:

1. Be referenced on ANSSI's trust list (French TSL) or be based on a certificate issued by a TSP (Trust Service Provider) that is itself eIDAS qualified;
2. Comply with ETSI standards EN 319 132 (XAdES), EN 319 122 (CAdES) or EN 319 162 (PAdES) depending on the required document format;
3. Be compatible with buyer profiles referenced by the DAJ (Directorate of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Economy).

Hosting and data sovereignty

For public procurement data, classified as "Restricted Distribution" in some cases, hosting must be located in France or within the European Union with contractual guarantees against any access by extra-European jurisdictions (Cloud Act reform). The SecNumCloud label from ANSSI constitutes the reference standard for digital sovereignty.

Integration with administration's business tools

Local authorities typically use specialised ERP systems (CIVITAS, Berger-Levrault, JVS-Mairistem, etc.). The signature solution must offer a documented REST API enabling integration into these workflows without service interruption. A ROI calculator can help you quantify the productivity gains expected when rolling out your project.

Traceability and archiving

The Heritage Code (Article L.213-1) requires specific retention periods for public documents. The solution must guarantee probative value archiving (NF Z42-026 standard) with qualified time-stamping (RFC 3161) and complete audit trail exportable in case of dispute before the administrative court.

For organisations considering migrating from an existing tool, our guide on migration from DocuSign or YouSign to Certyneo presents the key steps of a transition without service interruption.

Legal framework applicable to electronic signature in the public sector

Electronic signature in the public sector is part of a multi-level regulatory stack that must be mastered to ensure the legal validity of dematerialised acts.

Civil Code — Articles 1366 and 1367

Article 1366 of the Civil Code provides that "an electronic document has the same evidentiary value as a document on paper support, provided that the person from whom it emanates can be duly identified and that it is established and preserved under conditions of nature to guarantee its integrity". Article 1367 specifies that a qualified electronic signature within the meaning of eIDAS constitutes a presumption of reliability — thus reversing the burden of proof in favour of the signatory.

eIDAS Regulation No. 910/2014 and its 2024/1183 revision

The EU eIDAS regulation establishes a uniform framework for trust services within the EU. Its Article 25 states that a qualified electronic signature has the same legal value as a handwritten signature in all Member States. Annex I sets out the technical requirements for qualified certificates. The 2024 revision (eIDAS 2.0) adds the regulatory framework for the European Digital Identity Wallet.

Order of 12 April 2018 on electronic signature in public procurement

This order is the operational reference text for French public procurement. It requires advanced electronic signature with a qualified certificate (conforming to eIDAS Annex I) for commitment acts and specifies acceptable formats (PAdES, XAdES, CAdES).

Public Procurement Code — Articles R.2132-7 et seq.

Articles R.2132-7 to R.2132-14 of the Public Procurement Code regulate the modalities of electronic transmission of applications and offers, making electronic signature binding provided it respects the levels defined by the 2018 order.

GDPR No. 2016/679

Personal data collected during the signature process (signatory's identity, IP address, time stamp) constitute personal data within the meaning of the GDPR. The public buyer acts as a data controller and must ensure that the signature provider complies with Articles 28 (data processor agreement) and 32 (data security). An information notice (Article 13) must be provided to signatories.

NIS2 Directive transposed into French law (order March 2025)

Essential and important public entities within the meaning of NIS2 must report significant security incidents to ANSSI within 24 hours. A failure of the electronic signature system affecting the continuity of public procurement may constitute such an incident.

Legal risks in case of non-compliance

An engagement act signed with an insufficient level can be challenged before the administrative judge of pre-contractual emergency proceedings (Article L.551-1 of the Code of Administrative Justice), resulting in the suspension or even cancellation of the award procedure. Contractual penalties for delays attributable to a technical failure of signature can reach 1/1000th of the ex VAT amount per calendar day of delay in accordance with current CCAG.

Usage scenarios: electronic signature in daily public sector operations

Scenario 1 — A municipal federation managing around one hundred contracts annually

A medium-sized intermunicipal authority, grouping together around twenty municipalities and managing approximately 120 public contracts per year (works, supplies, services), faced paper signature delays reaching an average of 12 working days for an engagement act. Physical transfers between technical departments, the procurement service and the EPCI president generated recurring delays in procurement procedures, exposing the local authority to litigation risks.

By deploying a qualified electronic signature solution integrated into its buyer profile, the authority reduced this timeframe to less than 48 hours. Automatic traceability of initials and time-stamps also made it possible to reduce by 70% the time spent on constituting regulatory archiving files (retention period: 10 years for contracts above European thresholds).

Scenario 2 — A public hospital establishment and its supplier contracts

A hospital group of approximately 1,200 beds, subject to public procurement rules as a public health establishment (EPS), had to sign more than 400 amendments and purchase orders each year as part of follow-up agreements to framework agreements. The multiplicity of authorised signatories (head of procurement, deputy director, administrative officers) and the obligation to host with HDS made selecting a solution complex.

By opting for a platform hosted in France and HDS certified, compatible with qualified certificates issued by an ANSSI-referenced TSP, the establishment was able to electronically delegate signing rights via granular user profiles. The volume of printed documents fell by 85%, and the direct cost of paper archiving decreased by approximately 15,000 € per year according to an internal estimate made 18 months after deployment.

Scenario 3 — A technical services department of a large city and works service orders

A technical services department of a city of more than 80,000 inhabitants managing a multi-year road rehabilitation programme had to issue an average of 60 service orders per month to construction companies. Before dematerialisation, each service order involved printing, handwritten signature, digitisation and registered post delivery — an estimated average cost of 8 € per document and an unavoidable delay of 3 to 5 days.

Integration of an advanced electronic signature workflow directly into their business software enabled near-instant issuance of service orders, with electronic acknowledgement of receipt signed by the company's representative. The gain in actual work start delay was estimated between 3 and 4 days per site, which, over an average of 15 simultaneous sites, represents a significant operational impact on compliance with contractual timelines.

Conclusion

Electronic signature in the public sector is no longer a forward-looking topic: it is an operational obligation, governed by precise texts, with real legal risks in case of breach. Whether engagement acts in public procurement, resolutions transmitted to legality control or work service orders, each dematerialised act engages the responsibility of the local authority or public entity that produces it.

Faced with eIDAS 2.0, NIS2 and the acceleration of the State's digital transformation programme, administrations that have not yet structured their compliance approach must act now. Certyneo offers a qualified electronic signature solution, hosted in France, compliant with ANSSI requirements and integrable into your existing business tools.

Discover how Certyneo can support your administration towards full compliance: request a demonstration or consult our pricing and get ahead of the regulatory deadlines for 2026.