Simple — Email OTP
What you need: Nothing more than the email address you have already verified.
1 star
Sign documents for an INPI company formality
Setting up a company, making a change, closing it down: these formalities are now filed online, on the one-stop shop (guichet unique) of the INPI (the French intellectual property office, which runs the single online portal for company formalities), and some documents filed there must be signed electronically. 1-signature lets you sign these documents without a subscription, on the day you need to.
What gets signed
The one-stop shop asks you to attach documents signed by the declarant: depending on the formality, a declaration, a certificate, articles of association, minutes of a decision.
The signature level required depends on the formality and on the document. The one-stop shop states it at the time of filing: check it before choosing your level here.
Which level to choose
- Level 1: for the documents of routine company set-up formalities, where a simple electronic signature is accepted.
- Levels 3 to 6: for formalities that require an advanced signature. At levels 3, 5 and 6, your identity is supplied by FranceConnect (the French government's identity login service), France Identité (the French national ID app) or Identité Numérique La Poste (La Poste's digital identity): it is therefore verified, and a typing error stops the signing without using up your stars. At level 4, on the other hand, nobody verifies it: the certificate bears the name you typed, exactly as typed.
A document signed by several people
Articles of association or minutes are often signed by all the partners. 1-signature has one person sign at a time: each partner signs the same PDF in turn, and the previous signatures are preserved in it.
Good habits
- Prepare each document in PDF format, in its final version: a modification after signing breaks the signature.
- Upload the signed file to the one-stop shop exactly as you downloaded it, without re-saving it or printing it to PDF.
- Keep the evidence file of each signature with your documents.
The right levels
Advanced — FranceConnect
What you need: An account with any FranceConnect identity provider: impots.gouv.fr (the French tax portal), ameli (French health insurance), etc. Nationality plays no part: anyone who files a tax return in France or is covered by French social security has one. Some authenticate you directly in the browser, others send you to their mobile app: in that case, keep your phone within reach.
3 stars
Advanced — SMS OTP
What you need: A mobile phone able to receive SMS. Warning: nobody verifies your identity at this level — the certificate will be issued in the first and last names you entered, exactly as typed.
4 stars
Qualified — France Identité
What you need: For French nationals only. A credit-card-sized French national identity card, which neither a passport nor a residence permit can replace. It must have been activated in the France Identité app (the French national digital ID app) after certification at a town hall: this is not something you can improvise on the day of signing. When signing, have the card and the smartphone on which the app is installed: you can sign from a computer or on your phone, but your identity is proven on the phone, which reads the card's chip contactlessly.
5 stars
Qualified — Identité Numérique La Poste
What you need: An Identité Numérique La Poste (La Poste's digital identity), which is free to obtain but requires one of these three documents, currently valid: a French identity card, a French passport, or a residence permit valid for at least five years. A foreign identity document is therefore not enough, but a residence permit makes it available without French nationality. When signing, have the smartphone on which the app is installed and its PIN: you can sign from a computer or on your phone, but your identity is proven on the phone.
5 stars