Ticking an "I have read and accept" box binds the person who ticks it. In the European Union, that click can be a simple electronic signature under the eIDAS Regulation, and a court cannot set it aside solely because it is electronic. It does not, however, automatically carry the effect of a handwritten signature: the Regulation reserves that effect for the qualified electronic signature. If the acceptance is challenged, everything turns on the evidence: who accepted, which text, when, and whether that text has stayed the same since.

This page gives general information, up to date as of October 29, 2026, based on the official texts listed at the end. It is not legal advice on your specific situation.

Key point: the eIDAS Regulation defines three levels of electronic signature. Only the qualified signature has, by law, the effect of a handwritten signature. The other two remain valid and admissible in court; their strength depends on the evidence you keep.

What the eIDAS Regulation says

Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, known as eIDAS, applies directly in every Member State. Article 3, point 10, defines an electronic signature broadly: "data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign".

A ticked box, recorded with the person's identity and linked to the text they accept, fits that definition: it is electronic data associated with the contract, used by the person to accept it.

Article 25 draws two rules from this:

  • "An electronic signature shall not be denied legal effect and admissibility as evidence in legal proceedings solely on the grounds that it is in an electronic form or that it does not meet the requirements for qualified electronic signatures."
  • "A qualified electronic signature shall have the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature."

Article 46 applies the same rule to documents: an electronic document cannot be denied legal effect or rejected as evidence solely because it is electronic. We quote the consolidated version of 18 October 2024, which includes the 2024 reform by Regulation (EU) 2024/1183.

Simple, advanced or qualified signature

The Regulation sets out three levels. The higher the level, the easier it is to prove in a dispute.

LevelWhat the Regulation requiresEffect in court
Simple (ticked box, click, typed name)The definition in Article 3, point 10, with no further conditionValid and admissible as evidence; the party relying on it must show it is reliable
AdvancedThe four conditions of Article 26: uniquely linked to the signatory, capable of identifying them, created with data under their sole control, linked to the document so that any later change is detectableSame rules as a simple signature, with stronger evidence
QualifiedAn advanced signature created with a qualified signature creation device and based on a qualified certificate issued by a qualified trust service providerEffect of a handwritten signature throughout the EU (Article 25(2))

France: articles 1366 and 1367 of the Civil Code

The French Civil Code deals with electronic writing and signatures in two articles from the 2016 reform of contract law:

  • Article 1366 gives an electronic document the same evidential value as a paper one, on two conditions: the person it comes from can be properly identified, and it is drawn up and stored in a way that guarantees its integrity.
  • Article 1367 states that a signature identifies its author and shows their consent to the obligations in the document. When it is electronic, it consists of a reliable identification process that guarantees its link with the document. That reliability is presumed, until proven otherwise, only under the conditions set by decree.

That decree is Decree No. 2017-1416 of 28 September 2017 on electronic signatures: the presumption of reliability applies to the qualified electronic signature. An acceptance by tick box is therefore valid, but without the presumption. If the other party disputes it, whoever relies on it must show that the process identifies the person and that the document has not changed. That is what the evidence described below is for.

Spain: LSSI, Law 6/2020 and civil procedure

Spanish law follows the same logic, through three laws published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado:

  • Law 34/2002 (LSSI), Article 23: a contract concluded electronically has full effect once consent and the other conditions for validity are met. Where the law requires a written contract, an electronic medium satisfies that requirement. Article 24 adds that this medium is admissible in court as documentary evidence.
  • Law 6/2020, Article 3: proof of a private electronic document follows Article 326 of the Civil Procedure Act, paragraph 3 if the trust service used is not qualified, paragraph 4 if it is.
  • Law 1/2000 on Civil Procedure, Article 326: with a qualified service, the document is presumed to have the disputed feature (authenticity, integrity, date), and the party challenging it must carry out the verification. Without a qualified service, disputed authenticity or integrity is proved by expert examination or any other relevant means.

In Spain as in France, a simple electronic acceptance binds the parties; the difference lies in who has to prove what in a dispute.

What makes an acceptance hold up

French and Spanish law come back to the same questions. An acceptance holds up well if you can answer each one:

  1. Who accepted? A personal account, a verified email address, and the IP address and device used at the time of the click.
  2. Did they really consent? A box that starts empty and that the person ticks themselves, next to the full text or a link to read it before accepting.
  3. Which text, and when? The date and time of acceptance, the version of the text, and a copy of the contract as accepted.
  4. Has the text changed since? A digital fingerprint of the document, computed at the time of acceptance and given to both parties.

A SHA-256 fingerprint, described in the FIPS 180-4 standard from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is a string of 64 characters computed from the exact content of a file. Changing a single letter of the document gives a completely different fingerprint. To check a contract you received as a PDF, compute its fingerprint and compare it with the one you received at acceptance:

  • on Mac or Linux, in Terminal: shasum -a 256 contract.pdf
  • on Windows, in Command Prompt: certutil -hashfile contract.pdf SHA256

If both fingerprints match, the file has not been modified.

How Referaly records contract acceptance

On Referaly, the referrer accepts the professional's business referral agreement by ticking the "I have read and accept" box, in the app or on the invitation page. At that moment:

  • Referaly records the date, time, IP address, device used and the version of the text accepted;
  • the contract is generated as a PDF in the referrer's name; it carries the SHA-256 fingerprint of its text, so anyone can check that the printed text is the one accepted;
  • the SHA-256 fingerprint of the PDF file is stored, then sent to the referrer in the confirmation email, with the contract attached.

That email is sent for every acceptance, even if the referrer has turned off notifications. The contract template provided by Referaly is a starting point, without legal advice: each professional can replace it with their own contract. Our referral agreement guide covers the clauses to include.

When to move to an advanced or qualified signature

For most business referral agreements, a well-recorded acceptance is enough to prove the agreement. A qualified signature, created with a provider on the EU trusted list, becomes useful in three cases:

  • the expected commission is high and a dispute would be costly;
  • the signer's identity may be disputed, for example when the referrer has no verified account;
  • a law requires a specific form for the document concerned, which does not apply to a business referral agreement in the general case.

Frequently asked questions

Does ticking an "I accept" box count as a signature?

Yes. In the European Union it can be a simple electronic signature under the eIDAS Regulation, and a court cannot reject it solely because it is electronic. If it is challenged, its weight depends on the evidence kept: who accepted, which text, when, and whether the document has changed since.

Does a simple electronic signature have the same value as a handwritten one?

Not automatically. The eIDAS Regulation gives the effect of a handwritten signature only to a qualified electronic signature. A simple signature remains valid and admissible as evidence, but if it is challenged, the party relying on it must show that the process is reliable.

Do I need a certified signature provider for a business referral agreement?

No law requires one for this type of agreement. A well-recorded acceptance is usually enough to prove the agreement. A qualified signature, created with a provider on the EU trusted list, adds a presumption of reliability that helps for large amounts or when the signer's identity may be disputed.

How can I check that a PDF contract has not been modified?

Compute the SHA-256 fingerprint of the file and compare it with the one you received when the contract was accepted. On Mac or Linux: shasum -a 256 contract.pdf. On Windows: certutil -hashfile contract.pdf SHA256. If both fingerprints match, the file has not changed.

Who has to prove what if an electronic acceptance is challenged?

With a qualified signature, reliability is presumed in both France and Spain, so the party challenging it must prove otherwise. With a simple signature, the party relying on the acceptance must show that it came from the other party and that the text has not been altered.

Official sources

Further reading