eIDAS E-Signature for Freelancers

Printing contracts, signing them, scanning them, sending them back — that's a thing of the past. With Mappli, your clients sign contracts directly in the portal, legally valid and eIDAS-compliant.

What is an eIDAS-compliant e-signature?

The eIDAS Regulation (Electronic Identification, Authentication and Trust Services) is the European legal framework for electronic signatures. It defines the conditions under which a digital signature is legally recognised — across the entire EU and Switzerland.

There are three levels: The simple electronic signature (SES) has the lowest evidential value. The advanced electronic signature (AES) is uniquely linked to the signatory and tamper-proof. The qualified electronic signature (QES) is equivalent to a handwritten signature and requires a certified device.

Mappli offers the advanced electronic signature (AES). This is more than sufficient for the vast majority of freelancer contracts, proposals, NDAs and project agreements.

AES signatures are legally recognised across the entire EU and Switzerland. For most business transactions between freelancers and their clients, a QES is not required.

Why freelancers need an e-signature

Sending contracts back and forth by post or as scanned PDFs looks unprofessional and is slow. It often takes days before the signed contract comes back — and sometimes it gets lost entirely.

Clients today expect digital processes. If you offer professional services, you should use professional tools. An e-signature directly in the client portal shows that you work in an organised and modern way.

Faster contract signing means a faster project start. The less friction in the process, the sooner the actual work can begin — and the sooner you get paid.

On top of that, there's the audit trail: you can always see who signed when. No more discussions about whether a contract was accepted or not.

How the e-signature works in Mappli

Upload a contract to the portal or create it directly in Mappli. You define the signature fields and select who needs to sign.

Your client receives a link to the portal and can view the contract immediately. No account needed, no download, no printing.

The signature is done directly in the browser — your client can draw or type. On smartphone, tablet or desktop.

After signing, the PDF is sealed with the signature. From this point on, the document is tamper-proof.

Both parties — you and your client — automatically receive a signed copy of the contract.

A complete audit trail is created automatically: timestamp, IP address and signature hash are all documented.

Legal certainty

The e-signature in Mappli is eIDAS-compliant at the advanced electronic signature (AES) level. This means: legally recognised across the entire EU and Switzerland.

Every signature is documented with a complete audit trail — including timestamp, IP address and cryptographic signature hash. This gives you a solid basis of evidence in case of a dispute.

Signed PDFs are tamper-proof. Any subsequent modification to the document is detected and invalidates the signature.

For the vast majority of freelancer contracts, proposals, NDAs and project agreements, an AES is perfectly sufficient. You don't need a qualified signature (QES) for your day-to-day business.

Note: For certain legal transactions such as real estate purchases, notarial deeds or guarantees, a qualified electronic signature (QES) or a handwritten signature is required by law. However, this does not apply to typical freelancer contracts.