Is an electronic signature legal in Indonesia?

What makes an electronic signature valid in Indonesia?

Article 11 of the ITE Law, repeated in Article 59(3) of GR 71/2019, lists six conditions: the signature creation data relates only to the signer; at signing it is under the signer's sole control; any change to the signature after signing can be detected; any change to the related electronic information after signing can be detected; there is a method to identify the signer; and there is a method to show the signer approved the information.

Article 59(1) of GR 71/2019 adds that electronic signatures may be produced through various signing procedures. The law does not prescribe one technology, but the conditions on integrity and identification are what you must be able to prove.

Certified or uncertified: which do I need?

Article 60 of GR 71/2019 recognises two kinds. A certified electronic signature (tanda tangan elektronik tersertifikasi) uses an electronic certificate issued by an Indonesian electronic certification provider (PSrE) and a certified signature creation device. An uncertified signature (tidak tersertifikasi) is made without an Indonesian certification provider. Both are electronic signatures under the regulation.

Law 1 of 2024 added a hard line: high-risk electronic transactions use an electronic signature secured with an electronic certificate (Article 17(2a) of the ITE Law). The elucidation gives financial transactions not conducted face to face as an example. For those, an uncertified signature is not the right tool. For ordinary commercial documents, the question is mostly one of evidence: a certified signature is easier to defend, an uncertified one needs a good audit trail.

Which documents are excluded or need extra steps?

The original Article 5(4) of the ITE Law excluded documents that a law requires in writing and documents that must be notarial deeds or deeds made by a land deed official (PPAT). Law 1 of 2024 replaced it with a more general rule: the evidence provision does not apply where a law provides otherwise. In practice, instruments that Indonesian law requires to be made before a notary or PPAT, such as land transfers, still follow those laws and their own procedures, not an e-signature platform.

Stamp duty is separate from validity. Under Law 10 of 2020, agreements and other civil documents owe a Rp10,000 stamp duty, payable on electronic documents with an e-meterai. A document whose duty was not paid must be stamped later (pemeteraian kemudian) before it is used as evidence in court.

How should businesses e-sign in Indonesia?

For NDAs, service and freelance agreements, purchase orders and most B2B contracts, a simple electronic signature with an audit trail can meet the Article 11 conditions. Send the signing link to the counterparty's usual email address, keep the signed PDF with its signing certificate, and add an e-meterai when the document owes stamp duty.

If you contract with Indonesian consumers through an electronic contract, GR 71/2019 Article 47(1) requires it to be in Bahasa Indonesia. Use a certified signature from a PSrE for high-risk transactions such as remote financial transactions, or when a regulator requires it.

eSignSimple provides simple, uncertified electronic signatures with an audit trail (timestamps, IP addresses and a SHA-256 hash of the document). We are not an Indonesian electronic certification provider (PSrE), and we do not issue certified signatures or e-meterai.

This page is general information about how electronic signature law works, not legal advice. For a specific high-value or regulated transaction, check with a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction.