Electronic Signature Law of the peoples Republic of China 中华人民共和国电子签名法

（Adopted at the 11th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National people's Congress on August 28， 2004）

颁布日期：20040828 　实施日期：20050401 　颁布单位：全国人大常委会

　　Order of the President of the people's Republic of China

　　No.18

　　The Electronic Signature Law of the people's Republic of China， adopted at the 11th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National people's Congress of the people's Republic of China on August 28， 2004， is hereby promulgated and shall go into effect as of April1， 2005.

　　HU Jintao

　　President of people's Republic of China

　　August 28， 2004

　　Contents

　　Chapter ⅠGeneral Provisions

　　Chapter ⅡData Message

　　Chapter ⅢElectronic Signature and Certification

　　Chapter ⅣLegal Responsibility

　　Chapter ⅤSupplementary Provisions

　　Chapter Ⅰ

　　General Provisions

　　Article 1 This law is enacted in order to standardize acts of electronic signature， validate the legal effect of electronic signature， and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the parties concerned.

　　Article 2 For the purposes of this law， electronic signature means the data in electronic form contained in and attached to a data message to be used for identifying the identity of the signatory and for showing that the signatory recognizes what is in the message.

　　The data message as mentioned in this law means the information generated， dispatched， received or stored by electronic， optical， magnetic or similar means.

　　Article 3 The parties concerned may agree to use or not to use electronic signature or data message in such documentations as contracts and other documents， receipts and vouchers in civil activities.

　　The legal effect of a document， with regard to which the parties concerned have agreed to use electronic signature or data message， shall not be denied only because the form of electronic signature or data message is adopted.

　　The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall not be applicable to the following documents：

　　（1）documents relating to such personal relations as marriage， adoption and succession；

　　（2）documents relating to the transfer of the rights and interests residing in such real estate as land and houses；

　　（3）documents relating to termination of such public utility services as water supply， heat supply， gas supply and power supply； and

　　（4）other circumstances where electronic documentation is not applicable， as provided for by laws and administrative regulations.

　　Chapter Ⅱ

　　Data Message

　　Article 4 A data message， which can give visible expression to the contents carried and can readily be picked up for reference， shall be deemed to be the written form which conforms to the requirements of laws and regulations.

　　Article 5 Data messages that meet the following conditions shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements for the form of the original copies as provided for by laws and regulations：

　　（1）messages that can give effective expression to the contents carried and can readily be picked up for reference； and

　　（2）messages that can unfailingly guarantee that the contents remain complete and unaltered form the time when they are finally generated， And the completeness of the data messages shall not be affected when endorsements are added to the data messages or when their form are altered in the process of data interchange， storage and display.

　　Article 6 Data messages that meet the following conditions shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements for document preservation as provided for by laws and regulations：

　　（1）messages that can give effective expression to the contents carried and can readily be picked up fro reference；

　　（2）the format of the data messages is the same as the format when they

are generated， dispatched or received， or although the format is not the same， the contents originally generated， dispatched or received can accurately be expressed.； and

　　（3）messages the addressers and receivers of which and the time of their dispatch and receipt can be identified.

　　Article 7 No data messages to be used as evidence shall be rejected simply because they are generated， dispatched， received or stored by electronic， optical， magnetic or similar means.

　　Article 8 The following factors shall be taken into consideration when the truthfulness of data messages to be used as evidence is examined：

　　（1）the reliability of the methods used for generating， storing or transmitting the data messages；

　　（2）the reliability of the methods used for keeping the completeness of the contents：

　　（3）the reliability of the methods for distinguishing the addressers； and

　　（4）other relevant factors.

　　Article 9 Any of the following data messages shall be deemed to be dispatched by the addresser：

　　（1）the data message is dispatched with authorization of the addresser；

　　（2）the data message is dispatched automatically by the information system of the addresser； and

　　（3）verification of the data message made by the receiver in accordance with the method recognized by the addresser proves that the message is identical with the one dispatched.

　　If the parties concerned have agreed otherwise with regard to the matters specified in the preceding paragraph， such agreement shall be complied with.

　　Article 10 If confirmation of receipt of a data message is required pursuant to the provisions of laws and administrative regulations or the agreement reached between the parties concerned， such receipt shall be confirmed. When the addresser receives the confirmation of the receipt sent by the receiver， the data message shall be deemed to have been received.

　　Article 11 The time when a data message enters into a certain information system beyond the control of the addresser shall be deemed to be the time when the message is dispatched.

　　If a receiver designates a special system for receipt of a data message， the time when the message enters into the system as designated shall be deemed to be time when the said message is received； and if no special system is designated， the first time when the data message enters into any systems of the receiver's shall be deemed to be the time when the message is received.

　　If the parties concerned have agreed otherwise on the time of dispatch or the time receipt of data messages， such agreement shall be complied with.

　　Article 12 The principal business place of an addresser shall be the place of dispatch of data messages， and the principal business place of a receiver shall be the place of receipt of data messages. If there are no principal business places， their habitual residences shall be the places of dispatch or receipt.

　　If the parties concerned have agreed otherwise on the place of dispatch or the place of receipt of data messages， such agreement shall be complied with.

　　Chapter Ⅲ

　　Electronic Signature and Certification

　　Article 13 If an electronic signature concurrently meets the following condition， if shall be deemed as a reliable electronic signature：

　　（1）when the creation data of the electronic signature are used for electronic signature， it exclusively belongs to an electronic signatory；

　　（2）when the signature is entered， its creation data are controlled only by the electronic signatory；

　　（3）after the signature is entered， any alteration made to the electronic signature can be detected； and

　　（4）after the signature is entered， any alteration made to the contents and form of a data message can be detected.

　　The parties concerned may also choose to use the electronic signatures which m

eet the conditions of reliability they have agreed to.

　　Article 14 A reliable electronic signature shall have equal legal force with handwritten signature or the seal.

　　Article 15 An electronic signatory shall have the creation data of his electronic signature well preserved. When an electronic signatory learns that the creation data of his electronic signature have got lost or may have got lost， he shall make it known to all the parties concerned in time， and terminate the use of such data.

　　Article 16 If an electronic signature needs to be verified by a third party， the electronic verification service established according to law shall provide such service.

　　Article 17 An electronic verification service shall meet the following conditions；

　　（1）having the professional technicians and managerial personnel suited for provision of electronic verification services；

　　（2）having the funds and business places suited for provision of electronic verification services；

　　（3）having the technology and equipment complying with the safety standards of the State；

　　（4）having the certificates for the use of the codes approved by the code control institution of the State； and

　　（5）other conditions prescribed by laws and administrative regulations.

　　Article 18 A person that intends to engage in electronic verification service shall make an application to the department in charge of the information industry under the State Council and submits the materials proving fulfillment of the conditions as specified by Article 17 of this law. Upon receiving the application， the department in charge of the information industry under the State Council shall examine it according to law and cons

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