Electronic-signature statistics for 2026

Structure of the French e-signature market in 2026: qualified providers (QTSPs) notified to the EU trusted list, as counted on 2 September 2026, and the public price of a paper registered letter.

1. 32QTSPs

   Notified QTSPs in France

   Active qualified trust service providers notified to the EU LOTL.

   EU Trusted List France — DG CNECT, relevé du 2 septembre 2026

2. 154services

   Qualified services in France

   Signature + seal + timestamping + ERDS, counted individually per QTSP.

   EU Trusted List France — services qualifiés, relevé du 2 septembre 2026

3. 3rdrang UE

   French ranking in EU QTSP fleet

   Third-largest pool of qualified providers in the European Union, behind Spain and Italy.

   Classement des parcs QTSP — EU Trusted Lists, relevé du 2 septembre 2026

4. 7.56€

   Price of a registered letter with proof of delivery

   La Poste public price from 1 January 2026 for a 20 g letter, excluding printing, envelope and preparation time.

   La Poste — recommandé R1 20 g (6,11 €) + avis de réception (1,45 €), tarifs au 1er janvier 2026

Measurements, not estimates: delay, device and time of day of 388 remote signatures made on the Certyneo platform between April and September 2026 (Certyneo 2026 Barometer). Method, query and raw data are published with the study.

1. 35min

   Median time from sending to signature

   Half of recipients sign within 35 minutes of receiving the request; a quarter take more than 15 hours.

   Baromètre Certyneo 2026 — délai médian envoi → signature, 388 signatures (avril-septembre 2026)

2. 42%

   Share of signatures made on a smartphone

   On a smartphone, the median time to sign is 27 minutes, against 49 minutes on a computer.

   Baromètre Certyneo 2026 — 163 signatures sur smartphone sur 388

3. 25%

   Share of signatures made between 8 pm and 8 am

   Paris time. A further 18 % of signatures happen on a Saturday or Sunday.

   Baromètre Certyneo 2026 — 96 signatures entre 20 h et 8 h sur 388

Regulatory milestones structuring electronic signature in France and Europe since 2000. Sources EUR-Lex (EU 910/2014, EU 2024/1183) and Légifrance (Civil Code, Commercial Code, Labour Code).

1. 2,014

   Year eIDAS regulation was adopted

   EU Regulation 910/2014 adopted on 23 July 2014.

   Règlement (UE) n° 910/2014 adopté le 23 juillet 2014

2. 2,016

   Year eIDAS became directly applicable

   Applicable across all (then) 28 EU member states since 1 July 2016.

   Applicabilité directe eIDAS — 1er juillet 2016

3. 3

   Trust levels defined by eIDAS

   SES (simple), AES (advanced), QES (qualified) — art. 3 §10-11-12.

   Niveaux SES / AES / QES définis art. 3 §10–11–12 eIDAS

4. 2,024

   Year eIDAS 2.0 was adopted

   EU Regulation 2024/1183 adopted on 11 April 2024.

   Règlement (UE) 2024/1183 (eIDAS 2.0) adopté le 11 avril 2024

5. 2,026

   Deadline for making the EUDI Wallet available

   Every member state must offer at least one European digital identity wallet by 24 December 2026 at the latest.

   Règlement (UE) 2024/1183, art. 5 bis — au plus tard le 24 décembre 2026

6. 2,016

   Year French Civil Code art. 1366 codified

   Contract-law reform via ordinance 2016-131 — probative force of electronic writing.

   Code civil art. 1366 — ordonnance 2016-131 réforme contrats

7. 10ans

   Retention period for accounting records

   Article L123-22 of the French Commercial Code: accounting records and supporting documents.

   Code de commerce, art. L123-22 — conservation des documents comptables

8. 5ans

   Common-law statute of limitations

   Art. 2224 French Civil Code — extinctive prescription for personal actions.

   Prescription droit commun art. 2224 Code civil

9. 10ans

   Construction decennial liability duration

   Art. 1792 French Civil Code — strict liability of the constructor.

   Responsabilité décennale BTP — art. 1792 Code civil

State of eIDAS adoption across the 27 EU member states. Source: national trusted lists aggregated by the European Commission (LOTL), as counted on 2 September 2026.

1. 266

   Total QTSPs notified to the EU LOTL

   Sum of the 27 national trusted lists, as counted on 2 September 2026.

   Total QTSPs notifiés à la LOTL européenne (27 pays)

2. 2,391

   Qualified services aggregated across 27 TSLs

   Signature + seal + timestamping + ERDS, all QTSPs combined.

   Services qualifiés agrégés sur les 27 TSLs nationales

3. 57QTSPs

   Spain — largest QTSP fleet in the EU

   The EU's largest pool of qualified providers, driven by regional and sector-specific certification authorities.

   Espagne — 1er parc QTSP de l'UE

4. 39QTSPs

   Italy — 2nd-largest QTSP fleet in the EU

   Market driven by SPID + CIE (electronic ID card).

   Italie — 2e parc QTSP de l'UE

5. 800M

   Estonia — digital signatures in 20 years

   More than 800 million signatures with the ID card, Mobile-ID and Smart-ID between October 2002 and October 2022, including about 123 million in 2021 alone.

   RIA (autorité estonienne des systèmes d'information) — plus de 800 millions de signatures en 20 ans, octobre 2022

6. 24

   EU countries with notified national eID

   Compliant with art. 6 eIDAS — cross-border interoperability guaranteed.

   États membres avec eID national notifié à l'UE

Technical fundamentals of eIDAS-compliant electronic signature: trust levels, ETSI standards, cryptography, PSD2 integration. Sources: eIDAS regulation, ETSI, NIST.

1. 52

   Number of articles in the eIDAS regulation

   EU Regulation 910/2014 contains 52 articles across 6 chapters.

   Nombre d'articles du règlement eIDAS (UE 910/2014)

2. 8

   Technical steps in an eIDAS signature cycle

   From upload to probative archive — see /parcours-signature-eidas.

   Nombre d'étapes techniques d'un cycle signature eIDAS

3. 256bits

   Standard cryptographic hash size

   SHA-256 — normalised hashing algorithm for eIDAS signatures.

   SHA-256 — algorithme de hashage cryptographique standard eIDAS

4. EN 319 142

   PAdES standard (PDF signature)

   PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures — embedded in the signed PDF.

   ETSI EN 319 142 — PAdES (PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures)

5. EN 319 132

   XAdES standard (XML signature)

   XML Advanced Electronic Signatures — for structured document flows.

   ETSI EN 319 132 — XAdES (XML Advanced Electronic Signatures)

6. 30€

   PSD2 exemption ceiling for low-value remote payments

   A remote payment of €30 or less may be exempted from strong customer authentication, up to €100 cumulatively or 5 consecutive transactions.

   Règlement délégué (UE) 2018/389 (RTS DSP2), art. 16 — paiements à distance de faible montant

Deadlines already set by a legal or standards text: the European digital identity wallet (eIDAS 2.0 regulation) and the transition to post-quantum cryptography (NIST). No market projection is published.

1. 2,030

   NIST deprecation of RSA and ECC

   NIST published the ML-KEM and ML-DSA post-quantum standards (FIPS 203 and 204) in August 2024; its draft transition plan deprecates RSA and ECC in 2030 and disallows them after 2035.

   NIST IR 8547 (projet, novembre 2024) — RSA et ECC dépréciés en 2030, interdits après 2035

2. 27pays

   Member states required to offer an EUDI Wallet

   Deadline: 24 December 2026. Private services required to accept it (banks, telecoms, energy…) get one more year, until 24 December 2027.

   Règlement (UE) 2024/1183, art. 5 bis — un portefeuille par État membre au plus tard le 24 décembre 2026