Recent European Union legislation (eIDAS and Digital Markets Act) recognizes digitized printed and paper documents as certified “true copies”.
European Union legislation together with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and eIDAS regulation sets the standards to enables digital copies of printed documents / paper originals to be recognized as true and certified copies.
Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is driving a drastic reduction in the volume of printed paper archived by enterprises and public administrations worldwide.
Two-level Regulation in the European Union
EU legistation sets the guidelines to harmonize the principle of the certified “true copy”. Each Member State can then define and adjust its national framework for digitization practices and standards. This means that such processes may differ between countries.
A Definition of “The True Copy” in France
According to the French regulation NF Z42-026, a true copy must :
- be certified by a digital signing and sealing process;
- preserve a document’s integrity, proving it has not been altered ;
- ensure traceability of digital assets throughout the retention period.
It is advisable to ensure your true copy processes are certified before destroying your printed or paper archives.
Certified Digital Copies
Arcsys provides multiple functionalities to ensure the preservation of certified digital copies for all enterprise records on a centralized software platform.
Regulations in European Union
- France: Article 1379 of the Civil Code, decree n°1673 of 5 December 2016, NF Z42-026 standard
- Belgium: Article 1334 of the Civil Code and law of 26 July 2016
- Luxembourg: Law of the 25 July 2015
- Spain/Italy/Germany/UK/NL
- TRUE/EXACT /ACCURATE