{"id":38032,"date":"2013-01-30T07:07:02","date_gmt":"2013-01-30T07:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/basic-concepts-about-electronic-signatures-in-spain\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T11:10:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:10:33","slug":"basic-concepts-about-electronic-signatures-in-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/basic-concepts-about-electronic-signatures-in-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Basic concepts about electronic signatures in Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><strong>What is the electronic signature,<\/strong> <strong>digital signature<\/strong> or digitized signature, <strong>how can I obtain the digital certificate<\/strong>, what is it for, <strong>and the electronic invoice<\/strong>?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>These terms may or may not ring a bell, but the truth is that a large part of the population has never heard of these concepts. Those who have, may be just as confused as those who are unfamiliar with this terminology.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>For this reason, we are going to explain some of the basic concepts about electronic signatures in Spain:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Basic concepts about electronic signatures<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>What is an electronic signature?<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>According to Spanish law, this is the set of electronic data, entered together or associated with other data, which can be used as a means of identifying the signatory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Although there are <strong>different types of electronic signatures<\/strong>, depending on their level of security, electronic signatures can be equivalent to handwritten signatures. Specifically, only the <strong>qualified electronic signature<\/strong> is.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>What is a digital signature?<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In Spain, it means more or less the same as electronic signature. Of course, they are technically different (<strong>digital signature<\/strong> is a type of <strong>electronic signature<\/strong>), but functionally both words are often used as synonyms. In LATAM, for example, these concepts vary from country to country.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>Digitized signature<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It is perhaps the easiest for the end user to understand. Why? Because <strong>it is the scanned handwritten signature itself<\/strong>, <strong>which is then inserted into a document.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>However, a distinction must be made between types of digitized signature. Legally, imitating and scanning your handwritten signature to embed it in a document with a program is not the same as a signature that collects biometric information thanks to external devices such as tablets or touch screens.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>Digital certificate<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>In order to use the electronic signature, we must first authenticate ourselves as the person we claim to be. For that we need a reliable <strong>electronic identity method<\/strong>. In this line, the <strong>digital certificate<\/strong> is our <strong>electronic identity.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Where can we obtain the digital certificate? You have the following options:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>Certification Authority (CAs)<\/strong>: These are the organizations in charge of granting a <strong>digital certificate<\/strong> with a series of characteristics: they can be <strong>public<\/strong> (such as the F\u00e1brica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre) or <strong>private<\/strong> (firmaprofesional, camerfirma, ACCV, etc.).<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li><strong>Signature Holder <\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>It is a <strong>signature agenda, that is to say, a manager of the clients&#8217; electronic signatures.<\/strong> In Viafirma we are proud to have one of the best in the market.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>Electronic Invoice<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The same as the traditional invoice, but <strong>everything is managed and signed electronically<\/strong>. However, to be considered an e-invoice, it must meet a series of minimum requirements; for example, it must be digitally signed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li><strong>Mobile electronic signature<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>This is an <strong>electronic signature<\/strong> made with a<strong> mobile device<\/strong> (smartphone, tablet, etc). Depending on the security requirements that the signature meets, it can be considered:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\r\n<li>Simple<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li>Advanced<\/li>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<li><strong>Qualified<\/strong>, the latter being the only one recognized by Spanish law, <strong>being equivalent to the handwritten signature<\/strong> as far as legality is concerned.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>If you want to know more details about the concepts of electronic signature in Spain, we invite you to visit our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).<\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><div class=\"vf_related_posts_wrapper\"><h2 class=\"vf_related_posts_title\">Related information<\/h2><div class=\"vf_related_posts\"><article class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/digitized-signature\/\" class=\"vc_gitem-post-link\"><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"330\" src=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Firma-digitalizada-768x330.webp\" class=\" wp-post-image\" alt=\"firma-digitalizada\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Firma-digitalizada-768x330.webp 768w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Firma-digitalizada-300x129.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Firma-digitalizada-1024x439.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Firma-digitalizada-1536x659.webp 1536w, https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Firma-digitalizada.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/div><\/a><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-data\"><h3 class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/digitized-signature\/\">Digitized signature<\/a><\/h3><p class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_excerpt\">Do you know what the digitized signature is used for?<\/p><\/div><\/article><article class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/digital-identity\/\" class=\"vc_gitem-post-link\"><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-image\"><\/div><\/a><div class=\"vc_gitem-post-data\"><h3 class=\"vc_gitem-post-data-source-post_title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/digital-identity\/\">The &#8220;bricks&#8221; 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Last year at this time and, taking advantage of<\/p><\/div><\/article><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What is the electronic signature, digital signature or digitized signature,...","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"class_list":["post-38032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mobility-blog-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38032"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97443,"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38032\/revisions\/97443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.viafirma.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}