The handwritten signature scanned

A scanned handwritten signature (or "digitized signature") is the image of your paper signature — photographed or scanned — that is inserted into a document, most often a PDF or Word file. The document remains a standard file: only an image has been added.

This is very different from an electronic signature under the eIDAS regulation, which is based on a technical process linking the signature to the signer and guaranteeing the integrity of the document.

Under French law, electronic documents have the same probative force as paper on condition that their author is reliably identified and the document is preserved under conditions guaranteeing its integrity (article 1366 of the Civil Code). The signature must result from a reliable identification process guaranteeing its link to the act (article 1367 of the Civil Code).

A simple pasted image meets neither of these two conditions reliably: nothing proves that the signatory actually affixed it, and the image can be copied and reused on another document. A scanned signature can at best serve as prima facie evidence, but it is easily contestable before a judge.

Electronic signature (eIDAS) resolves exactly the weaknesses of the scanned signature. It links the signature to the signatory via authentication (OTP email/SMS), seals the document's integrity, and produces a timestamped audit trail — all enforceable before courts.

Depending on the stakes, you choose the appropriate level: simple (SES), advanced (AES, the recommended standard), or qualified (QES, legal equivalent of handwritten signature). In all cases, you obtain evidence far more solid than a scanned image.

With Certyneo, you replace the scanned image with a true electronic signature in minutes: import your PDF, place the signature fields, send the link to the signatories. Each one authenticates and signs on desktop or mobile, without creating an account.

The signed document and its eIDAS evidence file are timestamped and archived. You obtain robust proof where the scanned signature left only a contestable image.