Electronic or digital signature: what are the types and how to use them?
How about saying goodbye to all unnecessary paperwork in your company? The signing of documents online simplified this process in the most diverse types of documents, from start to finish, without sacrificing the necessary legal security and in compliance with all current legislation. But do you know what types of electronic (or digital) signatures are?
More than providing faster answers to administrative tasks, subscriptions can help you save time for what really matters in your organization, because, in addition to increasing efficiency and reducing costs compared to traditional means, this environmentally friendly practice is considered a great competitive advantage over your competitors.
This is a market with strong growth, with a CAGR of 28.1% expected during the period from 2022 to 2027, according to Mordor Intelligence.
So, let's now understand a little more about this feature and how it can optimize your business (in every sense).
What are the different types of electronic signatures?
If in the past the documents were signed exclusively on paper, with the evolution of technology, electronic documents appeared and, with them, the digital signature became an alternative to reduce bureaucratization processes and make them much faster and more uncomplicated.
First of all, it should be noted that a document is the record of an event that occurs in the real world and, this time, it can be public (if carried out before a public agent) or private and be in physical or electronic format.
Thus, for certain agreements and contracts to be legally valid, it is important that they be ratified by the parties involved. To this end, this document can be signed in person or 100% online.
In this sense, Brazilian legislation provides for different types of electronic signatures, which are classified depending on the method used to authenticate the person who will sign the document.
A Provisional Measure No. 2,200-2/2001, legal framework for electronic signatures in Brazil,
established, in its 10th article, two types of electronic signatures: (i) the one that is carried out through the use of a Digital Certificate issued by an entity accredited by ICP-Brazil; and (ii) the one that uses other methods of electronic authentication of the signer, provided that they are accepted by the parties or accepted by the person to whom the document is opposed.
The standard privileged private autonomy by not establishing any hierarchy between types of electronic signatures. In other words, signatures made using an ICP-Brazil Digital Certificate, provided for in paragraph 1 of article 10, and signatures using other means of authenticating the signer, as provided for in paragraph 2 of the same article, are equally valid.
Years later, the Law no. 14.063/2020 electronic signature of documents came to be regulated in the context of “interactions with public entities, in acts of legal entities and in health matters, and regarding software licenses developed by public entities”.
The standard classified electronic signatures into three types: qualified electronic signature, advanced electronic signature, and simple electronic signature:
Are these types of signatures legally valid?
Yes! In Brazil, the validity and legality of digital signatures have been consolidated over time and today there are no doubts about their acceptance in the legal world.
Take a look at the timeline of the evolution of legislation regarding electronic signatures over the past 25 years:
In accordance with Provisional Measure No. 2,200-2/2001, in private contractual instruments, the parties exercise their freedom to choose the most appropriate signature to sign their documents.
If you are looking for greater security in authenticating signers, you can choose to use more refined authentication methods, such as facial biometrics, the PIX or even an ICP-Brazil digital certificate. On the other hand, if they are known parties with an existing relationship, they can choose to use simpler authentication methods, such as an email or telephone, for example.
Law No. 14,063/2020, on the other hand, provides that, unless expressly determined by law, any document that is not protected by secrecy can be signed with any type of electronic signature.
If there is a need to present an electronically signed document to a registry office or public agency, it is important to verify that there is legislation that determines the use of a specific type of electronic signature.
In acts of transfer and registration of immovable property, for example, Law No. 14,063/2020
requires the use of qualified signatures, or, in the case of the registration of private instruments for the purchase and sale of property as a public title, the use of advanced signatures is possible.
💡Clicksign, a pioneering and leading platform in the Brazilian electronic signature market, provides its users with the possibility of making any type of electronic signature required by law, in a convenient, secure and legally valid manner.
Are electronic signatures secure?
To talk about electronic signature security, it is necessary to guarantee the verification of three factors:
A Authenticity of the signer is demonstrated through the different authentication methods offered on the Platform: they can be a digital certificate, a biometrics, a PIX, or even an email provided by the parties.
Important: The more authentication methods used, the stronger the auth of the signatory and, therefore, the process is safer.
The second security factor of electronic signatures is the form in which the Link between the person signing and the document. At Clicksign, all signed documents have a complete history of signatures, we call this section Document Log. It is in the document Log that the entire signatory authentication process is recorded in detail, containing information such as the names of the signers, IP addresses of their devices, emails, authentication methods used and times of the respective signatures. In this way, Clicksign issues a record that works as a link between the document and the signers, with the purpose of proving that the electronic signatures of that specific document are legally valid.
Already the Integrity is guaranteed by the Hash Code, a highly secure technology, a mathematical calculation, used to encrypt the original signed document. Every document signed on the Clicksign Platform has a unique code that guarantees that no changes were made to its content after the signers signed the document. The Hash Code is also recorded in the Document Log. In addition to the inclusion of the Hash Code, every signed document has the Clicksign Digital Certificate, which indicates, in an auditable way, that the document was signed on the Platform.
Phases of a document's lifecycle
In addition to signing a document properly, it is extremely important to be attentive to monitor its life cycle.
The life cycle of a document is nothing more than a succession of phases through which it passes from the moment it is produced to its final destination (whether permanent storage or elimination).
These phases comprise your generation (document creation), addressing (sending to the parties involved), availability (when signers have access to your content), subscription (in-person or remote), management (storage of the file for subsequent conservation or disposal) and must respect the provisions contained in Law No. 13,709/18 (General Data Protection Law).
Without a doubt, today companies have to deal with large amounts of data and having a platform capable of storing that data in an organized and usable format is essential.
Furthermore, defining a clear document lifecycle procedure is part of the general content management strategy, which specifies how it is obtained, organized, stored, protected, and delivered as efficiently as possible to the parties involved in the negotiation.
Therefore, understanding the document lifecycle can help you avoid information loss, redundancy, premature destruction, and other inefficiencies that cause your team to rework and compromise your customer experience.
Step by step for signing documents online on Clicksign
Safe, convenient, and simple. That's how Clicksign's solutions are for your business.
In addition, through an online document signing platform, it offers means of verifying the authorship and integrity of documents, in accordance with best electronic signature standards in the world.
Thus, our solutions provide access to a secure environment, ensuring the protection of your data and documents.
Speaking of which, how about starting to use these tools to optimize your activities and reduce your costs, especially in the business sector? See how it works in practice:
Finally, if you want to know more about how Clicksign can assist you in this process and become the ideal solution to accelerate the growth of your business, through the secure digitization of records and electronic signatures, click here and take a free trial.
