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Module 2 of 5 · Electronic signature · Block 2

Evidence of the signing act

An electronic signature is defended by what surrounds it. The signed document is only one part; the rest is the story of how it was signed, and that story has to be built at the time, not when the claim arrives.

Content reviewed on

What the evidence file contains

The document exactly as it was shown to the signatory, a timestamp for each step, the channel it was delivered through and the identification used.

Also the technical trail: the address it was accessed from, the device, and the record that the document was opened before being signed.

Why the order matters

Whether the signatory ever saw the document is a frequent dispute. Recording the opening before the signature, not just the signature, settles that in advance.

The burden of proof

Spanish Law 6/2020 refers to the Civil Procedure Act when an electronic document is challenged: the signature is verified by the appropriate means. A complete evidence file is what makes that verification quick rather than expensive.

What an auditor usually asks for

  • A copy of the document as it was shown to the signatory
  • A record of opening, not only of signing
  • A timestamp on each step of the process
  • An evidence file exportable as a single archive

How evidence is kept in Kimobox

  1. 1Enable the read receipt before the signature request.
  2. 2Store the evidence file alongside the document, not in a separate system.
  3. 3Check that the file can be exported and read without the platform that generated it.

Evidence that can only be read inside the system that created it is worth little outside it.

See the Kimobox signature file

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

  1. Regulation (EU) 910/2014 (eIDAS) on electronic identification and trust services EUR-Lex · 23/07/2014
  2. Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, European digital identity framework (eIDAS 2) EUR-Lex · 11/04/2024
  3. Spanish Law 6/2020 on certain aspects of electronic trust services BOE-A-2020-14046 · 12/11/2020
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