Awesome E-Signature
Curated Resources · 15 Sections · 138 Entries
Electronic signatures are increasingly anchored on public or permissioned blockchains for tamper-evidence, time-stamping, and long-term verifiability. This list collects standards, legal frameworks, court cases, cryptographic primitives, tooling, and platforms that shape the field. It is an auto-synced mirror of ChaindocIO/awesome-blockchain-esignature; the canonical home for community PRs and stars is GitHub.
- 01Standards and Specifications — EU and ETSI13
- 02Standards and Specifications — IETF RFCs15
- 03Standards and Specifications — NIST13
- 04Standards and Specifications — ISO/IEC6
- 05Standards and Specifications — W3C and others9
- 06Legal Frameworks by Region — International2
- 07Legal Frameworks by Region — Americas7
- 08Legal Frameworks by Region — EU member states9
- 09Legal Frameworks by Region — Other Europe3
- 10Legal Frameworks by Region — APAC5
- 11Legal Frameworks by Region — MEA2
- 12Court Cases and Judicial Precedents — United States6
- 13Court Cases and Judicial Precedents — United Kingdom and EU4
- 14Court Cases and Judicial Precedents — Aggregators2
- 15Glossary and Terminology42
Standards and Specifications — EU and ETSI
13 entries- ›eIDAS Regulation (EU 910/2014)
EU framework for electronic identification and trust services.
- ›eIDAS 2.0 Regulation (EU 2024/1183)
2024 amendment introducing the European Digital Identity Wallet.
- ›ETSI EN 319 122 - CAdES
CMS Advanced Electronic Signatures specification.
- ›ETSI EN 319 132 - XAdES
XML Advanced Electronic Signatures.
- ›ETSI EN 319 142 - PAdES
PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures.
- ›ETSI EN 319 162 - ASiC
Associated Signature Containers for packaging signed data.
- ›ETSI EN 319 411 - TSP policies
Policy and security requirements for trust service providers.
- ›ETSI EN 319 412 - Certificate profiles
Profiles for certificates issued to natural and legal persons.
- ›ETSI TS 119 182 - JAdES
JSON Advanced Electronic Signatures.
- ›ETSI TS 119 461 - Identity proofing
Policy and security requirements for identity proofing of trust service subjects.
- ›ETSI TS 119 612 - Trusted Lists
Format for trusted lists of qualified trust service providers.
- ›Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1501
Interoperability framework for cross-border eID under eIDAS.
- ›Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1502
Minimum technical specifications for eID assurance levels.
Standards and Specifications — IETF RFCs
15 entries- ›RFC 3161 - Time-Stamp Protocol
Internet X.509 PKI Time-Stamp Protocol (TSP).
- ›RFC 4880 - OpenPGP Message Format
Detached and inline signature format used in PGP.
- ›RFC 4998 - Evidence Record Syntax
Long-term archival of cryptographic evidence.
- ›RFC 5280 - X.509 PKI Certificate Profile
Certificate and CRL profile for the Internet X.509 PKI.
- ›RFC 5652 - Cryptographic Message Syntax
Foundation for CAdES signatures.
- ›RFC 6283 - XML Evidence Record Syntax
XML representation of evidence records.
- ›RFC 6960 - OCSP
Online Certificate Status Protocol for revocation checking.
- ›RFC 6962 - Certificate Transparency
Public, append-only logs of issued certificates.
- ›RFC 7515 - JSON Web Signature (JWS)
Detached and compact JSON-based signatures.
- ›RFC 7518 - JSON Web Algorithms
Cryptographic algorithms for JOSE.
- ›RFC 8017 - PKCS #1 v2.2
RSA cryptography primitives, encoding, and signature schemes.
- ›RFC 8032 - EdDSA
Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm (Ed25519, Ed448).
- ›RFC 8410 - Algorithm IDs for Edwards curves
X.509 OIDs for Ed25519, Ed448, X25519, X448.
- ›RFC 8551 - S/MIME 4.0
Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions message specification.
- ›RFC 8809 - JOSE registries
Profiles and registries for JOSE algorithms.
Standards and Specifications — NIST
13 entries- ›FIPS 180-4 - Secure Hash Standard
SHA-1, SHA-2 family hash algorithms.
- ›FIPS 186-5 - Digital Signature Standard
DSA, ECDSA, EdDSA signature schemes.
- ›FIPS 197 - AES
Advanced Encryption Standard block cipher.
- ›FIPS 202 - SHA-3
Permutation-based hash and extendable-output functions.
- ›NIST Cybersecurity Framework
Risk-based controls referenced by trust service auditors.
- ›NIST SP 800-22 - RNG testing
Statistical test suite for random number generators used in signing.
- ›NIST SP 800-56A - DH/ECDH key establishment
Pair-wise key establishment using discrete-logarithm cryptography.
- ›NIST SP 800-56B - RSA key establishment
Pair-wise key establishment using integer-factorization cryptography.
- ›NIST SP 800-57 - Key management
General key-management recommendations including signing keys.
- ›NIST SP 800-78 - PKI cryptographic algorithms
Algorithms and key sizes for PIV credentials.
- ›NIST SP 800-89 - Digital signature assurances
Recommendation for obtaining assurances for digital signature applications.
- ›NIST SP 800-186 - Elliptic curves
Recommendations for discrete logarithm-based cryptography.
- ›NIST SP 800-208 - Hash-based signatures
Stateful hash-based signature schemes (LMS, XMSS).
Standards and Specifications — ISO/IEC
6 entries- ›ISO 14533-1 - Long-term signature CAdES profiles
Long-term signature profiles for CAdES.
- ›ISO 14533-2 - Long-term signature XAdES profiles
Long-term signature profiles for XAdES.
- ›ISO 14533-3 - Long-term signature PAdES profiles
Long-term signature profiles for PAdES.
- ›ISO/IEC 27001 - ISMS
Information security management systems requirements.
- ›ISO/IEC 27018 - Cloud privacy
Code of practice for protection of PII in public clouds.
- ›ISO 32000-2 - PDF 2.0
Document management portable document format including signature dictionary.
Standards and Specifications — W3C and others
9 entries- ›ITU-T X.509
Public-key and attribute certificate frameworks.
- ›ITU-T X.660 - OID Tree
General procedures and top arcs of the international object identifier tree.
- ›Adobe Approved Trust List (AATL)
Adobe's curated list of trusted CAs for Acrobat/Reader signature validation.
- ›BSI TR-03145 - Secure CA Operation
German technical guideline for secure CA operation.
- ›W3C DID Core 1.0
Decentralized identifiers data model and syntax.
- ›W3C JSON-LD 1.1
JSON for linking data, used in verifiable credentials.
- ›W3C Verifiable Credentials Data Model 2.0
Core data model for cryptographically verifiable credentials.
- ›W3C Verifiable Credentials JOSE/COSE
Securing VCs with JOSE and COSE signature suites.
- ›W3C XML Signature 1.1
Syntax and processing for XML digital signatures.
Legal Frameworks by Region — International
2 entries- ›UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce (1996)
Model law influencing most national e-commerce statutes.
- ›UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures (2001)
UN model law that shaped most national e-signature statutes.
Legal Frameworks by Region — Americas
7 entries- ›Argentina Ley 25.506 - Firma Digital
Argentine digital signature law of 2001.
- ›Brazil MP 2.200-2/2001 (ICP-Brasil)
Establishes the Brazilian Public Key Infrastructure.
- ›Canada PIPEDA
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Part 2 governs e-signatures.
- ›ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001)
U.S. federal e-signature law enacted in 2000.
- ›ESIGN Act at U.S.C. Title 15 Chapter 96
Full text of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
- ›Mexico DOF - NOM-151 publications
Mexican federal gazette publishing NOM-151-SCFI on data preservation.
- ›UETA - Uniform Electronic Transactions Act
Model U.S. state law on electronic transactions.
Legal Frameworks by Region — EU member states
9 entries- ›Belgium - Federal eJustice portal
Official portal publishing the 2016 Belgian trust services law implementing eIDAS.
- ›French Code civil articles 1366-1369
French civil code provisions on electronic signature evidence.
- ›German BGB § 126a - Electronic form
Civil code section equating QES with handwritten signature.
- ›German BGB § 126b - Text form
Civil code section defining the text form requirement.
- ›German Vertrauensdienstegesetz (VDG)
German implementation of eIDAS trust services.
- ›Italy Codice dell'amministrazione digitale (D.Lgs. 82/2005)
Italian digital administration code covering electronic signatures.
- ›Netherlands Telecommunicatiewet
Dutch Telecommunications Act incorporating eIDAS provisions.
- ›Poland Ustawa o usługach zaufania (2016)
Polish trust services and electronic identification act.
- ›Spain Ley 6/2020
Spanish law on electronic trust services complementing eIDAS.
Legal Frameworks by Region — Other Europe
3 entries- ›Swiss ZertES
Swiss federal act on electronic signatures.
- ›UK Electronic Communications Act 2000
UK statutory basis for electronic signatures.
- ›UK Electronic Signatures Regulations 2002
Implementing the EU 1999/93/EC Directive prior to retained eIDAS.
Legal Frameworks by Region — APAC
5 entries- ›Australia Electronic Transactions Act 1999
Federal law giving legal effect to electronic communications.
- ›China NPC - Electronic Signature Law
National People's Congress portal hosting the 2005 Electronic Signature Law (amended 2019).
- ›India IT Act 2000
Indian Information Technology Act establishing digital and electronic signatures.
- ›Japan e-Gov - Act on Electronic Signatures
Act on Electronic Signatures and Certification Business (Law No. 102 of 2000).
- ›Singapore Electronic Transactions Act 2010
Statute governing electronic records and signatures in Singapore.
Legal Frameworks by Region — MEA
2 entries- ›South Africa ECT Act 25 of 2002
Electronic Communications and Transactions Act covering advanced electronic signatures.
- ›UAE legislation portal
Hosts Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 on electronic transactions and trust services.
Court Cases and Judicial Precedents — United States
6 entries- ›Berkson v. Gogo LLC, 97 F. Supp. 3d 359 (E.D.N.Y. 2015)
Modern framework for evaluating click-wrap conspicuousness.
- ›Forrest v. Verizon Communications Inc., 805 A.2d 1007 (D.C. 2002)
Click-wrap forum-selection clause held enforceable.
- ›Long v. Provide Commerce, Inc., 200 Cal. Rptr. 3d 117 (2016)
Found browse-wrap notice insufficient on the proflowers.com site.
- ›Meyer v. Uber Techs., Inc., 868 F.3d 66 (2d Cir. 2017)
Sign-in-wrap upheld; reasonable communication of terms.
- ›Specht v. Netscape Communications Corp., 306 F.3d 17 (2d Cir. 2002)
Browse-wrap unenforceable without unambiguous assent.
- ›Specht v. Netscape (Justia mirror)
Justia copy of the foundational browse-wrap opinion.
Court Cases and Judicial Precedents — United Kingdom and EU
4 entries- ›Bassano v. Toft (2014) EWHC 377 (QB)
Electronic signature on lender agreement satisfies statutory form.
- ›Goodman v. J. Eban Ltd (1954) 1 QB 550
Common law definition of signature, foundational precedent.
- ›Mercury Tax Group Ltd v. HMRC (2008) EWHC 2721 (Admin)
Execution of deeds and the validity of split signature pages.
- ›Neocleous v. Rees (2019) EWHC 2462 (Ch)
Automatic email footer can constitute a binding signature.
Court Cases and Judicial Precedents — Aggregators
2 entries- ›BAILII - British and Irish Legal Information Institute
Free database of UK and Irish judgments cited above.
- ›CourtListener - Free Law Project
Free database of U.S. federal and state opinions used for the citations above.
Glossary and Terminology
42 entries- ›AATL term
Adobe Approved Trust List of CAs trusted by Acrobat for signature validation.
- ›AdES family
Advanced Electronic Signature umbrella covering CAdES, XAdES, PAdES, JAdES, ASiC.
- ›AES cipher
Advanced Encryption Standard, FIPS 197 symmetric block cipher.
- ›ASiC container
Associated Signature Containers for packaging signed data, ETSI EN 319 162.
- ›CA role
Certificate Authority, defined in RFC 5280 section 3.2.
- ›CAdES profile
CMS Advanced Electronic Signatures, ETSI EN 319 122.
- ›Certificate Transparency log
Public append-only logs of issued X.509 certificates.
- ›CMS structure
Cryptographic Message Syntax, the basis of CAdES.
- ›CRL revocation
Certificate Revocation List defined in RFC 5280 section 5.
- ›DID identifier
Decentralized Identifier, W3C DID Core 1.0.
- ›DSA algorithm
Digital Signature Algorithm specified in FIPS 186-5.
- ›ECDSA algorithm
Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm in FIPS 186-5.
- ›EdDSA algorithm
Edwards-curve Digital Signature Algorithm, RFC 8032.
- ›eIDAS regulation
EU Regulation 910/2014 on electronic identification and trust services.
- ›e-seal type
Electronic seal under eIDAS Article 35, the organisational analogue of an e-signature.
- ›ESI committee
Electronic Signatures and Infrastructures, ETSI's standards committee.
- ›ESIGN statute
U.S. Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
- ›HSM device
Hardware Security Module for protected key storage, see NIST SP 800-57.
- ›JAdES profile
JSON Advanced Electronic Signatures, ETSI TS 119 182-1.
- ›JOSE registry
JavaScript Object Signing and Encryption umbrella registries.
- ›JSON-LD format
JSON for Linking Data, W3C Recommendation used by Verifiable Credentials.
- ›JWS object
JSON Web Signature, RFC 7515.
- ›LTV mode
Long-Term Validation, PAdES Part 4 / ETSI EN 319 142-2.
- ›OCSP responder
Online Certificate Status Protocol for revocation lookup.
- ›OID arc
Object Identifier, ITU-T X.660 hierarchical identifier scheme.
- ›PGP signature
OpenPGP Message Format for inline and detached signatures, RFC 4880.
- ›PAdES profile
PDF Advanced Electronic Signatures, ETSI EN 319 142.
- ›PKI architecture
Public Key Infrastructure framework specified in RFC 5280.
- ›QES level
Qualified Electronic Signature, eIDAS Article 3(12).
- ›QSCD device
Qualified Signature Creation Device, eIDAS Annex II.
- ›QTSP role
Qualified Trust Service Provider, eIDAS Article 3(20).
- ›SHA-2 family
Secure Hash Algorithm 2 family, FIPS 180-4.
- ›SHA-3 family
Permutation-based hash family, FIPS 202.
- ›S/MIME spec
Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, RFC 8551.
- ›TSA service
Time-Stamp Authority, RFC 3161.
- ›TSP entity
Trust Service Provider, eIDAS Article 3(19).
- ›UETA framework
Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, U.S. model statute on electronic transactions.
- ›VC credential
Verifiable Credential, W3C VC Data Model 2.0.
- ›X.509 certificate
Public-key certificate format, ITU-T X.509 / RFC 5280.
- ›XAdES profile
XML Advanced Electronic Signatures, ETSI EN 319 132.
- ›XML Signature spec
W3C XML Signature 1.1 syntax and processing.
- ›ZertES statute
Swiss Federal Act on Electronic Signatures.
Chaindoc Docs · Awesome E-Signature · 138 Curated Entries