Reference format for electronic signatures
Article 1
1. Member States shall put in place the necessary technical means allowing them to process electronically signed documents that service providers submit in the context of completing procedures and formalities through the Points of Single Contact as foreseen by Article 8 of Directive 2006/123/EC, and which are signed by competent authorities of other Member States with an XML or a CMS or a PDF advanced electronic signature in the BES or EPES format, that complies with the technical specifications set out in the Annex. 2. Member States whose competent authorities sign the documents referred to in paragraph 1 using other formats of electronic signatures than those referred to in that same paragraph, shall notify to the Commission existing validation possibilities that allow other Member States to validate the received electronic signatures online, free of charge and in a way that is understandable for non-native speakers unless the required information is already included in the document, in the electronic signature or in the electronic document carrier. The Commission will make that information available to all Member States.