Morocco Electronic Signature Compliance Guide

Are electronic signatures legal in Morocco? What laws primarily regulate them?

Electronic signatures are legal in Morocco. They are primarily regulated by Law No. 53-05 on the Electronic Exchange of Legal Data (2007) and Law No. 43-20 on Trust Services for Electronic Transactions (2020).

What types of electronic signatures are recognized in Morocco? What are the requirements?

Morocco recognizes three types of electronic signatures and electronic seals: simple electronic signature and ordinary electronic seal, advanced electronic signature and advanced electronic seal, qualified electronic signature and qualified electronic seal.

1. Simple Electronic Signature and Simple Electronic Seal

(1) Simple Electronic Signature

Law No. 43-20 defines a simple electronic signature as a signature achieved through a reliable electronic authentication process that ensures the signature’s association with the attached document and reflects the signatory’s consent.

(2) Simple Electronic Seal

Law No. 43-20 defines a simple electronic seal as electronic data uniquely created by a legal entity, combined with other electronic data through logical association or attachment, to ensure its origin and integrity.

2. Advanced Electronic Signature and Advanced Electronic Seal

(1) Advanced Electronic Signature

An advanced electronic signature is a simple electronic signature that meets the following conditions:

• It is uniquely assigned to the signatory;

• It is capable of identifying the signatory;

• It is created using electronic signature creation data that the signatory can use exclusively under their sole control, based on high-reliability standards set by the national competent authority;

• It is based on an electronic certificate or any equivalent procedure established by regulation;

• And it is linked to the data associated with the signature in such a way that any subsequent changes to the data are detectable.

(2) Advanced Electronic Seal

An advanced electronic seal refers to an ordinary electronic seal that also satisfies the following conditions:

• It bears a unique exclusive relationship with the seal’s creator;

• It identifies the creator of the seal;

• It is created based on high-reliability standards established by national authorities, using electronic seal generation data exclusively controlled by the seal’s creator;

• It is based on an electronic certificate or any equivalent procedure established by regulation;

• It is bound to its associated data in a manner that makes any subsequent modifications detectable.

3. Qualified Electronic Signature and Qualified Electronic Seal

(1) Qualified Electronic Signature

A qualified electronic signature is an advanced electronic signature that must be generated by a prescribed electronic signature creation device and based on an approved qualified electronic signature certificate.

(2) Qualified Electronic Seal

A qualified electronic seal is an advanced electronic seal that must be produced by prescribed electronic seal creation equipment and certified according to stipulated qualified electronic seal certificates.

The validation process for a qualified electronic signature or qualified electronic seal must meet the following conditions to be deemed valid:

• The certificate used for signing must comply with electronic signature or seal certification requirements exactly at the time of signing;

• The qualified certificate must be issued by a certified trust service provider and must remain valid at the time of signing;

• The signature validation data must match the data provided by the user party;

• The dataset uniquely identifying the signing party within the certificate has been correctly supplied to the user party;

• If a pseudonym was used at the time of signing, this must be explicitly communicated to the user;

• The electronic signature or seal must have been created by a certified generation device, having met all advanced signature or seal criteria at the moment of signing;

• The integrity of the signed data has not been compromised.

Furthermore, the qualified electronic validating system must supply the user party with accurate validation process results and enable the user to detect any legally/security critical issues occurring during that process.

In what scenarios can electronic signatures be used in Morocco?

Electronic signatures can be used in scenarios including but not limited to:

• Sales and commercial contracts

• Service level agreements

• Employment contracts

• Bank account opening forms

• Loan agreements

• E-government services, including tax declarations and procurement bidding

• Internal business approvals and HR policies

• Electronic signatures are widely accepted by digital service providers, banks, and telecom companies in Morocco, particularly within FinTech and digital identity platforms.

In what scenarios are traditional signatures required in Morocco?

The following scenarios typically require the use of traditional handwritten signatures:

• Wills and testamentary documents

• Marriage contracts

• Real estate transactions requiring notarization

• Notarial deeds

• Documents pertaining to family law (e.g., divorce, child custody)

• Powers of attorney involved in court or public entity registrations