Recruitment firms & headhunters

Electronic signature for recruitment firms

Job offer letter, search mandate, placement contract, candidate confidentiality agreement, secondment contract: coordinate three-way signature between recruitment firm ↔ client company ↔ candidate without mail or in-person meetings. Compliant with the Labor Code, CNIL recruitment resolutions, the eIDAS regulation and Article 1366 of the Civil Code.

Use cases in a recruitment firm

From search mandate to final placement, each step involves at least two parties to coordinate: the firm almost never signs alone.

Search mandate (exclusive or non-exclusive)

Mandate signed with the client company before the mission starts: scope, fees, exclusivity, replacement guarantee. Signature in less than 24 hours to start the search without waiting for a mail response.

Three-way employment promise

Reciprocal promise signed by the client company, countersigned by the firm (in its capacity as mandatary), then accepted by the candidate. The dual-channel OTP formally identifies each party and traces the date of acceptance — enforceable under Article L1221-1 of the Labor Code.

Candidate confidentiality agreement (shortlist NDA)

Before sharing the confidential client brief with shortlisted candidates, an NDA protects the advertiser's identity and job terms. Mobile signature in less than 2 minutes from the candidate's side.

Placement contract & fees

Placement agreement signed between the recruitment firm and client company: payment terms, replacement guarantee conditions (typically 3-6 months), termination provisions. 10-year archival with probative value for Urssaf audits and fee disputes.

Personnel provision agreement (temporary, staff leasing, CDD-trampoline)

Personnel provision: tripartite agreement between recruitment firm ↔ user company ↔ employee, coordinated signatures in a single envelope with common timestamp. Compliant with Code du travail sections L1251-42 and following.

RPO & sourcing engagement letter

For Recruitment Process Outsourcing or fixed-fee sourcing missions: engagement letter specifying deliverables, KPIs and reporting. Advanced electronic signature for formal commitment from the client.

Why Certyneo for recruitment firms

Six guarantees designed for recruitment specifics: tripartite signature, candidate mobility, strict GDPR and ultra-short timelines.

Native tripartite signature

A single envelope coordinates the client, recruitment firm and candidate. Configurable signature order (sequential or parallel), automatic follow-up notifications, single audit trail for all three parties.

Candidate mobile signature without account creation

Candidates — often in international mobility or employed — sign from their phone in less than 2 minutes, without downloading an app or creating an account. Essential for meeting the 10-day acceptance deadline for a job offer.

Audit trail admissible before the Labor Court

Each signed offer generates a timestamped certificate: candidate identity (email OTP + SMS), acceptance date, SHA-256 fingerprint of the document. Admissible before labor courts in case of dispute over the offer or its acceptance.

Compliant with CNIL recruitment resolution

Candidate data encrypted (TLS 1.3 + AES-256), 100% EU hosting, deletion on request, access traceability. Compliant with CNIL resolution n°2002-017 and GDPR for processing personal data in recruitment.

10-year archival for Urssaf audits

Placement agreements and mandates are retained for 10 years with probative value, the recommended duration for Urssaf audits and fee disputes. Download the complete file at any time.

API & ATS integrations

Webhooks, Zapier and Make to connect Certyneo to your ATS (LinkedIn Talent Hub, Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor, Beetween, Flatchr). Automatic envelope creation upon job offer validation in your ATS, candidate status update upon signature.

Probative value of the signed job offer

Since the Court of Cassation ruling of September 21, 2017 (Cass. soc., no. 16-20.103), the unilateral job offer no longer constitutes an employment contract until the candidate accepts it — but acceptance immediately binds the employer. The acceptance date therefore becomes the triggering event for all rights: probation period, seniority, withdrawal.

Certyneo issues for each signed offer a audit certificate embedded in the PDF, which brings together all technical evidence:

Candidate identity (verified email, phone confirmed by OTP)
Exact date and time of acceptance — qualified, enforceable timestamp
SHA-256 fingerprint of the offer as accepted, which demonstrates the absence of subsequent modification
Log of consultations (how many times the candidate opened the offer before accepting)
Identification of the offer author on the client company side (countersigned signature)

This body of evidence protects the recruitment firm and client company against typical disputes ("I never accepted", "the offer was modified", "the acceptance date is later") and secures defense before the Labor Court.

Code du travail, CNIL recruitment and GDPR

Recruitment processes particularly sensitive data (CV, family situation, mobility, salary expectations) that require a strict compliance framework.

Code du travail — placement & personnel provision

Article L5321-1 governs paid placement activities, articles L1251-42 and following govern temporary work and personnel provision. Certyneo enables coordination of tripartite signatures required by these regimes and preservation of documents with probative value.

CNIL recruitment resolution (n°2002-017)

CNIL requires transparent information to the candidate, purpose limited to professional evaluation, retention period proportionate to purpose. Certyneo hosts candidate data 100% in the EU (Germany), encrypted in transit and at rest, with deletion on request.

GDPR — legal basis & candidate rights

Legal basis = execution of pre-contractual measures at candidate''s request (GDPR article 6.1.b). Candidate rights (access, rectification, erasure, portability) implemented natively. Standard DPA available at signup to formalize the data processor role.

Replacement guarantee & fees

Advanced electronic signature formally records the hire date of the placed candidate — start of the guarantee period (typically 3-6 months). If the candidate leaves during the guarantee, the signed agreement proves coverage and supports the replacement service.

Electronic signature guide·eIDAS guide·Certyneo security·Free contract templates

Frequently asked questions from recruitment firms

Is an electronically signed job offer enforceable?

Yes. A job offer may be signed on any medium (Code civil article 1366: electronic writing has the same probative force as paper writing). Since the Court of Cassation ruling of September 21, 2017 (no. 16-20.103), it is the candidate''s acceptance that forms the contract — Certyneo traces this acceptance with a qualified timestamp enforceable before the Labor Court.

How do I manage tripartite signature between recruitment firm ↔ client ↔ candidate?

A single Certyneo envelope coordinates all three parties. You configure the signature order (for example: client first, then recruitment firm as countersignatory, then candidate), each party receives their link at the right step, and a single audit trail traces all three signatures with their respective timestamps.

How long do we have to get a job offer signed?

There is no legal deadline for signature on the client company side, but once the offer letter is sent to the candidate, they must accept it within a reasonable timeframe (in practice 7 to 10 days according to case law). Certyneo accelerates signature on the client side (often 2-4 hours) and candidate side (mobile, no account creation) to meet this deadline without pressure.

Are candidate data compliant with GDPR?

Yes. 100% EU hosting (IONOS Germany), TLS 1.3 encryption in transit and AES-256 at rest, strict data isolation by firm. The legal basis for processing is the execution of pre-contractual measures at the candidate''s request (Article 6.1.b GDPR). A standard DPA is available and compliant with CNIL deliberation No. 2002-017 on recruitment.

Can you sign a temporary staffing agreement (interim, staffing)?

Yes. Temporary staffing contracts (Articles L1251-42 et seq. of the Labor Code) require tripartite signature: firm/agency ↔ user company ↔ employee. Certyneo coordinates this signature in a single envelope with shared audit trail, compliant with mandatory notices in Article L1251-43.

What ATS integrations does Certyneo offer?

Native connectors via Zapier and Make for LinkedIn Talent Hub, Greenhouse, Lever, Teamtailor, Beetween, Flatchr. Our REST API enables automatic envelope creation upon job posting validation in your ATS, and candidate status update upon offer letter signature. Full documentation at certyneo.com/developers.

How long are offer letters and contracts archived?

Our plans include 10-year archiving with probative value, the recommended duration for Urssaf audits, fee disputes and labor court proceedings. Documents and their audit trail remain downloadable at any time from the firm account, including after termination upon request.

Must the candidate create a Certyneo account to accept an offer letter?

No. The candidate receives a direct email link, opens the offer letter on their phone, verifies their number via an SMS code (OTP), signs with their name and finger — no app download, no account creation, no credit card. On the UX side, the experience is designed to create zero friction within the 7-10 day acceptance window.

Have your next offer letter signed in 5 minutes

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