Are electronic signatures legal in India?

Yes, within limits. Section 5 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 lets the electronic signatures listed in its Second Schedule, such as Aadhaar eSign, meet a legal requirement for a signature. Section 10A keeps contracts made electronically from being unenforceable for that reason alone. Wills, trusts and most powers of attorney and negotiable instruments are excluded from the Act.

Is PQC Imza the same as Aadhaar eSign or a Digital Signature Certificate?

No. Aadhaar eSign and Digital Signature Certificates are issued through licensed Certifying Authorities and are the techniques the IT Act names. PQC Imza is a simple electronic signature with post-quantum cryptography and identity verification. Where a law or the other party requires a Second Schedule signature, use one.

Can I sign a rental agreement electronically?

The IT Act no longer excludes contracts over immovable property, but a lease for more than a year must still be registered under the Registration Act, 1908, and stamp duty applies where the stamp laws charge it. Signing electronically replaces neither.

How much does it cost to get a document signed?

PQC Imza charges $2.50 for each document you send, paid by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and credit packs bring the price per document down. No subscription is needed, and signing is free for the people who sign.

What do the people signing need?

A phone with PQC Wallet, the free app for iPhone and Android. To verify their identity they hold a passport or ID card with a chip to the phone once, and each signature records how its signer was verified. Signing costs them nothing.

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E-signatures in India

Electronic signatures in India

India's law on electronic signatures is narrower than most: its signature rule names specific techniques. Here is what the Information Technology Act says, where a simple electronic signature fits, which documents are excluded, and how a small firm or a freelancer can get a document signed for one fee, without a monthly plan.

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Law last checked on October 25, 2026

What the law says

Under section 5 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, where a law requires a document to be signed, the requirement is satisfied if it is authenticated by an electronic signature affixed in the manner the Central Government prescribes. In the Act, an "electronic signature" means a technique specified in its Second Schedule (sections 2(1)(ta) and 3A). Both techniques listed there today lead to a Digital Signature Certificate from a licensed Certifying Authority: e-authentication using Aadhaar or other e-KYC services, known as eSign, and signature keys held by a trusted third party.

Other electronic forms are not shut out of contracts. Section 10A says that where the proposal, the acceptance or their revocation is expressed in electronic form, the contract is not unenforceable solely because that form was used.

Evidence is governed by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, in force since 1 July 2024. An electronic record is not denied admissibility for being electronic (section 61), and it is submitted with the certificate section 63 describes. Except for a secure electronic signature, the fact that an electronic signature is the subscriber's has to be proved (section 66), and the presumptions in section 86 apply only to secure electronic records and secure electronic signatures.

The laws that apply

Information Technology Act, 2000 (as amended in 2008): sections 3A and 5 (electronic signatures), section 10A (contracts formed electronically), section 1(4) with the First Schedule (excluded documents), the Second Schedule (approved techniques).
Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023: sections 61 and 63 (electronic records as evidence), 66 (proving an electronic signature) and 86 (presumptions for secure signatures).
Registration Act, 1908: section 17 (leases that must be registered).

Where an electronic signature is not enough

Under section 1(4) and the First Schedule, as amended on 26 September 2022 (S.O. 4720(E)), the IT Act does not apply to:

Negotiable instruments other than cheques (demand promissory notes and bills of exchange issued in favour of or endorsed by an entity regulated by the RBI, NHB, SEBI, IRDAI or PFRDA are also outside the exclusion)
Powers of attorney, except those that empower an entity regulated by one of those regulators to act for the person executing them
Trusts
Wills and any other testamentary disposition

The same 2022 amendment took contracts for the sale or conveyance of immovable property off the list. That does not remove the Registration Act: a lease from year to year, for a term of more than one year, or reserving a yearly rent has to be registered (section 17). Stamp duty applies where the stamp laws charge it; in many places it is paid with an e-stamp certificate instead of stamp paper.

What PQC Imza is, and what it is not

In India, a PQC Imza signature is not an electronic signature within the IT Act's Second Schedule: it is not Aadhaar eSign, it is not backed by a Digital Signature Certificate from a licensed Certifying Authority, and it is not a secure electronic signature. Where a law requires a document to be signed, use a Second Schedule signature.

Where no law prescribes how a document is signed, a PQC Imza signature is an electronic record of agreement, and section 10A keeps a contract formed that way from being unenforceable for that reason alone. In a dispute, who signed has to be proved like any other fact, and each signature records how its signer was identified and the exact file they signed.

PQC Imza is an electronic signature service. Each signature is made on the signer's phone with ML-DSA, the post-quantum signature standard NIST published in 2024 (FIPS 204), and is bound to the exact file that was signed. Signers verify their identity in the app by reading the chip in their passport or ID card, and every signature records how its signer was identified.

It is not a qualified, certified or government-accredited digital signature, and PQC Imza is not a licensed or accredited certification authority in any country. Where a law asks for that kind of signature, or for a handwritten signature, a notary or registration, use what the law asks for.

What small firms and freelancers sign with it

Freelance and service contracts

Agree the scope, fees and deadlines with a client in India or abroad and have both signatures the same day, without printing or scanning.

Non-disclosure agreements

Send an NDA before the first meeting. The other side reads it on their phone and signs there.

Offer letters

Send an offer letter to a candidate and keep a signed PDF that shows who accepted it and when.

Purchase orders

Have a supplier countersign a purchase order or a quotation, so both sides hold the same signed copy.

Rental agreements

A lease of more than a year has to be registered, and stamp duty applies where it is charged. Use PQC Imza where those steps allow it, and for the papers around a lease, such as an inventory or house rules.

How signing works

You prepare the document on the web. The people who sign do it on their phones, free.

01
Upload the document

Sign in at pqc-imza.com with Google or Apple and upload a PDF, or build one from a template.
02
Pay for that document

Pay once for the document by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or use a credit from a pack.
03
Name who signs

Add each signatory by name and email address, in the order they should sign. People in the room can scan a signing code instead.
04
They sign on their phone

Each signatory installs PQC Wallet, the free app for iPhone and Android, verifies their identity once with the chip in their passport or ID card, and signs.
05
Keep the signed PDF

When everyone has signed, download the signed PDF. Every page names who signed, a QR code lets anyone check it later, and a record of it is written to the SciChain blockchain.

What it costs

You pay for each document you send. No subscription is needed, and signing is free for the people who sign.

One document

$2.50 per document

Paid when you send it.

Credit packs

10 documents for $12
25 documents for $26
50 documents for $45

Purchased credits never expire.

Monthly plans, if you send often

Starter: $9 a month for 10 documents
Pro: $29 a month for 40 documents
Business: $99 a month for 200 documents

Prices are in USD. The seller is ZincirX Inc., and you pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay through Stripe. All prices

Questions

Are electronic signatures legal in India?: Yes, within limits. Section 5 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 lets the electronic signatures listed in its Second Schedule, such as Aadhaar eSign, meet a legal requirement for a signature. Section 10A keeps contracts made electronically from being unenforceable for that reason alone. Wills, trusts and most powers of attorney and negotiable instruments are excluded from the Act.
Is PQC Imza the same as Aadhaar eSign or a Digital Signature Certificate?: No. Aadhaar eSign and Digital Signature Certificates are issued through licensed Certifying Authorities and are the techniques the IT Act names. PQC Imza is a simple electronic signature with post-quantum cryptography and identity verification. Where a law or the other party requires a Second Schedule signature, use one.
Can I sign a rental agreement electronically?: The IT Act no longer excludes contracts over immovable property, but a lease for more than a year must still be registered under the Registration Act, 1908, and stamp duty applies where the stamp laws charge it. Signing electronically replaces neither.
How much does it cost to get a document signed?: PQC Imza charges $2.50 for each document you send, paid by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and credit packs bring the price per document down. No subscription is needed, and signing is free for the people who sign.
What do the people signing need?: A phone with PQC Wallet, the free app for iPhone and Android. To verify their identity they hold a passport or ID card with a chip to the phone once, and each signature records how its signer was verified. Signing costs them nothing.

Sources

The texts this page relies on. Where they differ from this summary, they prevail.

This page is general information, not legal advice. It describes the law as we read it on the date above; laws change, and whether an electronic signature suits a particular document depends on the document and the circumstances. For a document with legal formalities, ask a lawyer qualified in India.