Cameroon Electronic Signature Compliance Explanation

Are electronic signatures legal in Cameroon? What laws primarily regulate electronic signatures?

Electronic signatures are legal in Cameroon, and Cameroon electronic signatures are primarily regulated by the Uniform General Commercial Code, the Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Law, and the Electronic Communications Law.

What types of electronic signatures are recognized in Cameroon? What are the respective requirements?

Cameroon recognizes three types of electronic signatures, namely electronic signatures, advanced electronic signatures, and qualified signatures.

1. Electronic Signatures

The Uniform General Commercial Code defines electronic signatures as: signatures obtained through asymmetric encryption algorithms, used to verify the identity and integrity of the message sender.

2. Advanced Electronic Signatures

An advanced electronic signature is one that meets the following requirements:

• It is uniquely linked to the signatory;

• It can identify the signatory;

• The document is created using means that are uniquely controlled by the signatory;

• The data is linked to other electronic data so that any changes to the data can be detected.

3. Qualified Electronic Signatures

A qualified electronic signature is a specific digital signature implementation that meets the government’s specific specifications, including the use of secure signature creation devices, and is certified as “qualified” by the government or a party contracted by the government.

In which scenarios can electronic signatures be used in Cameroon?

• Human resources documents, such as employment contracts, benefit documents, and other new employee onboarding processes
• Business agreements between corporate entities, including confidentiality agreements, procurement documents, and sales agreements
• Certain consumer agreements, including new retail account opening documents
• Certain real estate documents, including lease agreements, and other related documents for residential and commercial real estate

In which scenarios in Cameroon is a more advanced electronic signature required?

• Certain real estate documents, including lease agreements, and other related documents for residential and commercial real estate
  • Certificates of incorporation issued to applicants who submit registration applications electronically
  • The Registrar confirms electronically receipt of all applications submitted electronically to him, such as:
    • Securities registration applications,
    • Registration renewal applications,
    • Applications for modifying (correcting) company registry information, company liquidation-related information, etc.
• Documents exchanged between the company registry of each specific court, the central national company registry, and the central regional company registry must bear the qualified electronic signature of the agency that sent the document.

In which scenarios in Cameroon is a traditional signature required?

• Contracts for the creation or transfer of real property rights, excluding lease agreements.
• Contracts that require the intervention of courts, public authorities, or professionals exercising public powers by law
• Contracts of guarantee and security provided by individuals acting for non-professional or commercial purposes
• Contracts that fall under family law or inheritance law