Simple Electronic Signature (SES)

A Simple Electronic Signature, or SES, is the broadest and most basic of the three e-signature tiers defined by the EU's eIDAS Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 910/2014). eIDAS defines an electronic signature as data in electronic form that is attached to, or logically associated with, other data and used by the signer to sign. That definition is deliberately wide, so almost any common way of signing electronically lands in this baseline tier: typing your name, drawing a signature on a touchscreen, clicking an I agree button, or pasting a scanned image of your handwriting.

The reason the SES tier matters is a principle in eIDAS often described as non-discrimination. Article 25 says an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect or rejected as evidence in legal proceedings solely because it is electronic, or because it does not meet the requirements for the qualified tier. In plain terms, even the simplest electronic signature gets its day in court. The tier you pick does not decide whether a signature counts at all; it decides how much extra proof you may need if someone disputes it later.

Where SES differs from the higher tiers, the Advanced Electronic Signature and the Qualified Electronic Signature, is built-in assurance. An SES carries no inherent guarantee about who actually signed or whether the document was altered afterward. That does not make it weak or worthless. It means the strength of your evidence comes from what surrounds the signature rather than from cryptography baked into the signature itself: the email address used, the device and IP, the timestamps, and a clear record of intent. This is exactly where an audit trail earns its keep, turning a bare click into a defensible record.

For the large majority of everyday documents, such as internal approvals, routine service agreements, consents, and other low-dispute paperwork, a well-evidenced SES is appropriate and proportionate. You only need to climb to AES or QES when a document carries real money, real obligations, or a legal requirement for a specific tier. Note that SES is an eIDAS concept; the U.S. ESIGN Act (2000) and UETA (1999, adopted by 49 states and the District of Columbia, with New York instead relying on its own Electronic Signatures and Records Act) take a more technology-neutral approach and do not define formal tiers, though they share the same core idea that a signature cannot be denied legal effect merely for being electronic. Every document signed on sign.pink comes with a detailed, timestamped audit trail, which is precisely the evidence that makes a simple electronic signature hold up.

Examples

• Typing your full name into a signature box at the end of an online form
• Drawing your signature with a finger or stylus on a phone screen
• Clicking an I agree or Accept button to approve a set of terms
• Pasting a scanned image of your handwritten signature into a PDF