# sign-me — E-Signature

sign-me by D-Trust GmbH holds a panel rating of 2.5/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2.5/5), as of 2026-10-15. Provenance: EU-Made; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: D-Trust GmbH (https://www.d-trust.net/de/loesungen/sign-me)
- Category: [E-Signature](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): EU-Made
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/sign-me
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/sign-me/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/sign-me/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-10-20 · evaluated 2026-10-15 · oldest source captured 2026-10-13

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: D-Trust GmbH
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Default not stated; pages mention Germany [S7]
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

sign-me is D-Trust GmbH's remote signature service; the vendor is itself the qualified trust service provider of the Bundesdruckerei group. Scores are strongest on signature levels, clustering at 5-6, and identity verification at 5-7: all eIDAS levels are covered, the qualified signature is stated to equal a handwritten signature and fulfil the written-form requirement, and identification runs via AusweisIDent, VideoIdent or Point-of-Sale-Ident. Weakest is pricing transparency at 0-1 — beyond two free qualified signatures at registration, every cost is a sales conversation. Signing workflow and integration and API sit at 3-4: signers must register and identify before signing, templates and workflows exist only on the portiQ or signature-server route, and no public API documentation, webhooks, sandbox or named connectors appear. Sovereignty splits the judges from 3 to 6: four credit the documented German chain — a Berlin entity, the sealing service in the vendor's own German data centre, only hash values exchanged for sealing — while the Data Protection Officer at 3 and the Revenue Operations Lead at 4 weigh the unconfirmed storage of portal documents and signer data, with no published subprocessor list or ISO 27001 certification.

**Speaks for it:**
- All eIDAS signature levels are covered, with the qualified signature stated as equal to a handwritten signature and fulfilling the written-form requirement
- Identification methods are named — AusweisIDent, VideoIdent and Point-of-Sale-Ident — with the German ID card, electronic residence permit and EU citizen card accepted
- Every qualified signature automatically carries a qualified timestamp with the LTV function for long-term verifiability
- Qualified certificate and proof data are kept permanently under § 16 Abs. 4 VDG, with log files deleted after at most forty-five days
- The API reaches every signature level via portiQ, direct API or partner application, deployable on-premises or as managed cloud

**Held against it:**
- Beyond the two free qualified signatures at registration, we found no public plan prices, per-signature fees, limits or API pricing — packages are quoted by the sales team
- Every signer must register and complete one-time identification before any signature in the portal
- Templates, workflows and PDF forms exist only as functions of the portiQ connection or signature server, not in the portal itself
- We found no public API documentation, webhooks, sandbox, SDKs or named connectors for Microsoft 365, CRM, HR or document management systems
- We found no public information on where sign-me documents and signer identification data are stored, on a subprocessor list, or on certifications such as ISO 27001

**Best for:**
- You need qualified electronic signatures with the same legal effect as a handwritten signature that fulfil Germany's written-form requirement
- Your signers hold German ID cards, electronic residence permits or EU citizen cards and can identify once via AusweisIDent or VideoIdent
- You archive signed documents for years and rely on automatic qualified timestamps, the LTV function and permanent certificate retention under § 16 Abs. 4 VDG
- You seal large document volumes automatically and need documents to stay in your own environment, with only hash values exchanged with the German data centre

**Avoid if:**
- You must compute the cost of a real signing volume before purchase — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
- Your signers would balk at registering and completing a one-time identification before their first signature
- You run high-volume contract sending from a portal — the documented flow is a four-step self-signing process aimed at freelancers, self-employed and private individuals
- Your compliance review requires published API documentation or named connectors before you wire signing into Microsoft 365, a CRM or an HR system

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price.

| Criterion | The Legal Counsel | The HR Operations Lead | The Revenue Operations Lead | The Integration Engineer | The Data Protection Officer | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| eIDAS levels & trust services | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Signer identification | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Signing workflow & signer experience | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 |
| Evidence, validation & retention | 3/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 2/5 |
| Integrations & API | 2/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 | 1.5/5 | 2/5 |
| European sovereignty | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 1.5/5 | 3/5 |
| Pricing transparency | 0.5/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 | 0.5/5 |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **2/5** | **1.5/5** | **2.5/5** | **2/5** | **2.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The Legal Counsel** (v1.0): Decides which contracts may be signed electronically and at which level. Wants SES, AdES and QES named per plan and country, the qualified trust service provider linked to the EU Trust List, and an audit trail with timestamps that still validates when the contract is disputed in eight years.
- **The HR Operations Lead** (v1.0): Sends two hundred employment contracts a year, many of them fixed-term and so under written form. Wants QES that a new hire can complete on a phone in ten minutes, identification that accepts the IDs applicants actually hold, bulk sending from templates, and a price per qualified signature known before the contract is signed.
- **The Revenue Operations Lead** (v1.0): Measures how long a quote takes to come back signed and where it stalls. Wants signing from inside the CRM, templates sales cannot break, reminders and signing order that run themselves, and a signer experience that needs no account, no app and no explanation.
- **The Integration Engineer** (v1.0): Embeds signing into the company's own portal and archives the result in the DMS. Wants a versioned API with webhooks and a sandbox, every signature level reachable through the API rather than only in the web app, and signed documents exported with their evidence intact.
- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): Knows every signer who holds an ID card up to a camera hands biometric and identity data to a provider they never chose. Asks who performs the identification, where documents and ID data are stored, how long the audit trail keeps IP addresses, and who the subprocessors in the trust service chain are.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Knows "legally binding" usually means a simple signature. Reads for the level the default plan actually signs at, the QTSP the provider does not operate itself, the per-QES and ident fees on top of the plan, the envelope limit, and "eIDAS-compliant" from a provider that names no trust service at all.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Ownership | Not determined | — | — |
| Data residency | Not determined | — | — |
| Subprocessors | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Accessibility feedback email: info@d-trust.net · D-Trust GmbH, Kommandantenstraße 15, 10969 Berlin · contact form, post, email [S11]
- Accessibility statement date: 2023-07-05 · July 2023 [S10]
- Accessibility statement date: self-assessment July 2023 · 2023-07-05 [S11]
- Ausweisident latest tsps: 1.5 · English · German · 2024-11-08 [S13]
- Cloud pki latest cps: 4.3 · English · German · 2026-05-13 [S13]
- Csm pki latest cps: 5.3 · English · German · 2026-07-15 [S13]
- Cvca eid latest cps: 2.2 · German · 2024-11-08 [S13]
- Device pki latest cps: 2.0 · German · 2024-11-08 [S13]
- Dtrust latest cp: 6.0 · English · German · 2026-07-15 [S13]
- Eidas: yes · yes [S6]
- Eidas: yes · yes [S2]
- Eidas notification: yes [S8]
- EU trusted list: yes [S6]
- Pdf ua target: PDF/UA (DIN ISO 14289) [S11]
- Root pki latest cps: 4.1 · English · German · 2024-11-08 [S13]
- Social media dpf: LinkedIn nach Transatlantic-Data-Privacy-Framework (DPF) zertifiziert [S3]
- Telematikinfrastruktur latest cps: 3.6 · German · 2025-11-13 [S13]
- Tsps latest: 3.0 · English · German · 2026-07-15 [S13]
- Uniper pki: yes · 2023-08-30 · 2.7 [S13]

**Data**
- Certificate data categories: Zertifikatsdaten · Kontakt-, Bestell- und Rechnungsdaten · Sperrpassworthashs · Zertifikatsnachweisdaten · IP-Adress-Paare und Zugriffszeitpunkte · Ausweiskopien · Biometrische Fotos [S3]
- Certificate retention: Dauerhafte Aufbewahrung für qualifizierte Signatur- und Siegelzertifikate nach § 16 Abs. 4 VDG [S3]
- Chatbot logdata retention: 60 [S3]
- Chatbot retention: 90 [S3]
- Logfile retention: 45 [S3]
- Newsletter cookies: ewafut · ewafutano · 24 [S3]
- Revoked certificates: no [S5]
- Survey retention: 90 [S3]

**Hosting**
- Datacenter: eigenes hochsicheres Rechenzentrum · Deutschland [S7]
- Website controller: Bundesdruckerei GmbH [S3]

**Integrations**
- API direct: direct connection via API into existing applications [S15]
- API existing software: into existing applications and specialized procedures [S14]
- Ausweisident online interface: AusweisIDent Online · OpenID Connect web interface [S9]
- Ausweisident onsite interface: AusweisIDent On-Site · OpenID Connect web interface [S9]
- Connection options: portiQ · direct API · partner application [S14]
- Eid service interface: D-Trust eID Service · SAML · SOAP [S9]
- Eid service interfaces: SAML · SOAP [S8]
- Identity verification: AusweisIDent (eID) · VideoIdent [S2]
- Partner network: partner network integrations; partner list in sign-me FAQ [S15]
- Partner network: directly integrated in many signature-software and workflow providers; partner list in sign-me FAQ [S14]
- Portiq features: yes · yes (as portiQ feature) [S14]
- Seal me: seal-me remote sealing service can be integrated in all connection versions [S15]
- Seal me addon: yes · seal-me [S14]

**Legal**
- Address: Berlin · Kommandantenstraße 15 · 10969 [S3]
- Agb change notice: 6 [S5]
- Arbitration body bgg: yes · yes · yes [S11]
- Content responsible: Antonia Maas · Leiterin Unternehmenskommunikation [S4]
- Contract term: Contract runs for the regular validity period of the certificate [S5]
- Copyright: © 2026 \| Bundesdruckerei GmbH [S4]
- Document date: August 2024 [S5]
- Entity: D-Trust GmbH, Tochtergesellschaft der Bundesdruckerei Gruppe GmbH [S3]
- Entity: D-Trust GmbH [S5]
- Entity name: D-Trust GmbH · Kommandantenstraße 15, 10969 Berlin [S4]
- Export control: Services subject to German, EU, Chinese and US export control rules; sanctions-listed parties excluded [S5]
- Group affiliation: Bundesdruckerei-Gruppe [S5]
- Group membership: Bundesdruckerei-Gruppe [S4]
- Owned by bundesdruckerei: Bundesdruckerei Group [S13]
- Place of performance: Berlin [S5]
- Register: HRB 74346 · Amtsgericht Berlin Charlottenburg [S4]
- Service discontinuation notice: 2 [S5]
- VAT id: DE 202620438 [S4]
- Warranty period: 1 · 2 [S5]
- Weee number: DE 29482319 [S4]

**Pricing**
- Ausweisident online model: transaction-based · S · M · L · XL · AusweisIDent Online [S9]
- Ausweisident onsite model: transaction-based · S · M · L · XL · AusweisIDent On-Site [S9]
- Berca model: annual fee · D-Trust BerCA [S9]
- Coin packs: 34.9 · 100 · yes · 139.9 · 500 · yes [S2]
- Coin purchase channel: REINER SCT shop · yes [S2]
- Eid service model: Jahresgebühr für die Ausstellung der Berechtigungszertifikate · Projektpreis · yes [S8]
- Eid service model: price for authorisation certificate · package-based · D-Trust eID Service · 100000 [S9]
- Foreign customers VAT: Foreign customers without valid entrepreneur proof (e.g. VAT ID) are charged German VAT [S5]
- Identification costs: 50 · yes · 10 [S2]
- Invoicing: Prices invoiced after certificate provision and transmission of identification data [S5]
- Late payment revocation: Payment arrears over 30 days is a revocation ground [S5]
- Model: transaction-based · Coins · yes [S2]
- Signature costs: 2 · 5 [S2]
- VAT: no [S5]

**Product**
- Access control: yes [S7]
- Access options: both products: access via smartphone, laptop or tablet, location-independent [S1]
- Aes use case: AES suited to internal approval processes [S15]
- Aes use case: internal approval processes [S14]
- Analytics cookieless: no [S3]
- API available: yes [S2]
- API integration: API [S7]
- API target audience: sign-me API targets companies, authorities and public institutions with own software/workflows [S1]
- Ausweisident description: Governikus · online · on-site [S9]
- Ausweisident online: Fully online identification, no authorisation certificate required by customer [S9]
- Ausweisident onsite: Electronic reading of ID card data at point of sale [S9]
- Ausweisident tsps: Trust Service Practice Statement AusweisIDent, versions 1.0–1.5, current version 1.5 valid from 2024-11-08 [S12]
- Automatic timestamp: yes [S7]
- Berca: D-Trust operates the BerCA (Berechtigungs-Certificate Authority) issuing authorization certificates for service providers [S8]
- Bilingual documents: Newer policy documents are published in German and English; some older/specific ones (Device PKI, Telematikinfrastruktur, CVCA-eID) are German only [S12]
- Certificate directory: yes [S5]
- Certificate policy archive: Certificate Policies of D-TRUST GmbH archive, current version 6.0 valid from 2026-07-15, German/English [S12]
- Certificate portal role: Auftragsverarbeiter [S3]
- Certificate validity: 3 [S7]
- Chatbot features: KI-Chatbot für E-Health-Produkte mit Speech-to-Text und Text-to-Speech [S3]
- Cloud pki cps: D-TRUST Cloud PKI CPS archive, current version 4.3 valid from 2026-05-13, German/English [S12]
- Company: Bundesdruckerei-Gruppe · D-Trust GmbH [S7]
- Comparison remote seal: Suitable for mass applications · Qualified electronic seal · Seal software · In the D-Trust data centre · Sealing in a completely virtualised environment; For example, TR RESISCAN, laboratory findings [S6]
- Comparison seal card: Qualified electronic seal · On a smart card (secure storage location) · EPREL application; Sealing of notices and public announcements with low volumes [S6]
- Comparison seal id: Suitable for individual and mass applications · Advanced electronic seal · Seal software · Selected by the organisation (soft token) · Machine-to-machine (M2M) communication - Communications between banks - Sealing of incoming and outgoing… [S6]
- Csm pki cps: D-TRUST CSM PKI CPS archive, current version 5.3 valid from 2026-07-15, German/English [S12]
- Cvca eid cps: CPS of D-TRUST CVCA-eID PKI, versions 1.0–2.2, current version 2.2 valid from 2024-11-08, German only [S12]
- Data sovereignty: data sovereignty via on-premise installation or managed cloud (server/API direct options) [S15]
- Device pki cps: D-TRUST Device PKI CPS archive, versions v1.0–v2.0, current version 2.0 valid from 2024-11-08, German only [S12]
- Document verifier cp: Certificate Policy of the non-sovereign Document Verifier (BerCA), versions v1.2–v1.3 [S12]
- Dtrust tsps: Trust Service Practice Statement D-TRUST, versions 1.0–3.0, current version 3.0 valid from 2026-07-15 [S12]
- Eid service enterprise: D-Trust eID-Service für Großkunden: identification of end customers online, reading ID data at premises, identification as service for third parties [S8]
- Eidas: eIDAS (EU) Nr. 910/2014 [S5]
- Eidas all levels: high-volume signers · all signature levels [S14]
- Eidas notified: yes [S9]
- Eidas option: yes [S8]
- Eidas qes: covers all eIDAS signature levels; QES has same legal effect as handwritten signature [S15]
- Eidas qualified: eIDAS · yes [S7]
- Eon pki cps: EON SE PKI CPS archive, current version 3.5 valid from 2026-05-11 [S12]
- Eseal issued to: eSeals always issued to a legal entity [S6]
- Eseal purpose: eSeal confirms origin and integrity of digitally transmitted documents [S6]
- Evidence strength: QES with timestamp more probative than handwritten signature [S14]
- Free trial signatures: 2 · yes [S2]
- Hash only exchange: yes [S7]
- Id cards supported: Supports German ID card, electronic residence permit, EU citizen card [S9]
- Identification: Customer identification required before use, by D-Trust itself or external parties [S5]
- Identification methods: one-time personal identification required before QES use [S15]
- Key housing: D-Trust [S14]
- Login options: personal credentials or Shadow Accounts in organizational context · personal credentials only [S1]
- Manipulation protection: signed documents protected against unnoticed changes; manipulation made visible [S15]
- Mass sealing: yes [S7]
- Mobile signing: sign directly online via tablet and smartphone [S15]
- Newsletter double opt in: yes [S3]
- No certification needed: no [S9]
- No hardware: no [S7]

**Support**
- Accessibility feedback channels: info@d-trust.net · contact form · post · email · D-Trust GmbH, Kommandantenstrasse 15, 10969 Berlin [S10]
- Cp cps location: https://www.d-trust.net/de/support/repository [S5]
- Documentation: PDF · Produktblatt · Produktvergleich · Whitepaper · yes [S2]
- Hours: Montag bis Freitag · 07:00-18:00 · First Level · 0 · 1 [S5]
- Revocation request: https://www.d-trust.net/de/support/sperrung-von-zertifikaten [S5]
- Sales contact: vertrieb@d-trust.net · phone and email [S9]
- Sales contact: D-Trust sales team contact [S15]
- Sales email: vertrieb@d-trust.net [S7]

55 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/sign-me

## Questions

### Is sign-me European?

Yes. whats-best.ai classifies sign-me as EU-Made.

### Where does sign-me store data?

The default storage location for customer data is not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026. The vendor’s pages mention Germany as hosting location, per [the vendor’s page captured 13 Oct 2026](https://whats-best.ai/evidence/6693).

### Does sign-me have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 13 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to sign-me?

As of 15 Oct 2026, the panel rates [Penneo (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/penneo), [Youtrust (Yousign) (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/youtrust) and [MOXIS (2.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/moxis) highest among the other 14 E-Signature products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Penneo](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/penneo) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [sign-me alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/sign-me/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 19 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 19 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 11 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 5 subprocessors facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 support facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 2 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage: https://www.d-trust.net/de/loesungen/sign-me (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S2] Product page: https://www.d-trust.net/de/loesungen/sign-me-portal (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S3] Privacy policy: https://www.d-trust.net/de/datenschutzerklaerung (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S4] Legal notice: https://www.d-trust.net/de/impressum (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S5] Terms of service: https://www.d-trust.net/de/agb (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S6] EIDAS levels & trust services — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/en/solutions/seal-services (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S7] EIDAS levels & trust services — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/de/loesungen/qualifizierte-fernsiegel (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S8] Signer identification — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/de/loesungen/identifizierungsdienste (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S9] Signer identification — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/en/solutions/identification-services (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S10] Signing workflow & signer experience — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/en/accessibility-statement-sign-me-web-portal (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S11] Signing workflow & signer experience — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/de/barrierefreiheit-des-sign-me-webportal-der-d-trust (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S12] Evidence, validation & retention — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/de/support/repository-archiv (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S13] Evidence, validation & retention — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/en/support/repository-archiv (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S14] Integrations & API — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/de/loesungen/sign-me-api (checked 2026-10-13)
- [S15] Integrations & API — found from sitemap: https://www.d-trust.net/en/solutions/sign-me-api (checked 2026-10-13)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "sign-me — E-Signature", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-10-20. https://whats-best.ai/software/e-signature/sign-me

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/630?target=page