Audit Trail: Complete traceability and legal validity under the eIDAS standard
In a digital world, a signature is only as strong as the data behind it. To ensure that your agreements in Handsal are not only digital but also legally indisputable, a comprehensive Audit Trail (audit log) is automatically generated for every single case.
This document acts as a digital fingerprint of the entire process and is designed to meet the requirements of the eIDAS regulation (EU's regulation on electronic identification and trust services). An Audit Trail is your guarantee that the document has not been altered after signing and that the identity of the parties has been verified.
What does a Handsal Audit Trail contain?
A complete audit log in Handsal documents all events in the case lifecycle with extreme precision:
- Identity validation: Documentation of how the counterparty was verified (e.g. via email validation, SMS code/AES or national e-IDs such as MitID and BankID).
- Timestamping: Every action – from when the document is uploaded, opened, approved and finally signed – is recorded with a precise, non-tamperable timestamp.
- IP addresses and device data: We log from which IP address and which type of device (e.g. mobile or desktop) the action was performed. This is crucial evidence in the event of a dispute.
- Event log: A complete list of all interactions, including any reminders sent via the system or changes to the recipient list.
Compliance with eIDAS requirements
The eIDAS regulation sets strict requirements for integrity and authenticity. Handsal supports these requirements through the following mechanisms:
- Integrity (Document Integrity): When a case is completed, the document is digitally "sealed". Any subsequent change to the document will invalidate the digital signature. The Audit Trail proves that the document is identical to what the parties originally saw.
- Authenticity: By linking the signature to specific identification data (email, phone number or e-ID), we ensure that the signature can be attributed directly to the signer, which is a core requirement for Advanced Electronic Signatures (AES) under eIDAS.
- Non-repudiation: The detailed logging makes it extremely difficult for a party to subsequently deny knowledge of or signature of the agreement, as we can technically document the entire process.
Why is Audit Trail important for your business?
If you ever end up in a legal dispute about a contract, it is not enough to have a PDF with an image of a signature. You need the technical evidence. Handsal's Audit Trail is designed to be presented as evidence in court, as it provides the technical documentation that courts and authorities require to validate a digital transaction.
It gives peace of mind for both you and your counterparty that everything is done by the book and that your most important agreements are protected against manipulation.
Find your Audit Trail
Do you need to see an example of an Audit Trail from one of your completed cases? You will find the audit log attached to each case directly in your portal.