DSS (Digital Signature Service) esig/dss

European Commission Java library for creating, extending and validating advanced electronic signatures (XAdES, CAdES, PAdES, JAdES).

Creator kit + Compare GitHub ↗ Install guide (official) ↗

DSS (Digital Signature Service) at a glance

Checked 15 Oct 2026

DSS (6.5.1) is the European Commission's open-source Java framework for creating, extending and validating advanced electronic signatures, published on Maven Central under LGPL-2.1. It is a developer building block: there is no send-for-signature workflow, signer emails or tracking. A demo web app and standalone app live in the separate esig/dss-demonstrations repo and are built with Maven. Needs Java 8+ to use and Java 11+ to build.

Cite this pageRepoQuarry. “DSS (Digital Signature Service).” Checked 15 Oct 2026. https://repoquarry.dev/projects/eu-dss

How much of DocuSign does it replace?

1 of 6 jobs. Library for standards-based signature creation and validation only; no sending, routing or tracking.

Send documents for signature Not covered

Signing order and reminders Not covered

Audit trail and completion certificate Not covered

Reusable signing templates Not covered

eSignature API and embedded signing Not covered

Certificate-based digital signatures (PKI) Partial replacement

For send documents for signature, signing order and reminders, audit trail and completion certificate, reusable signing templates, eSignature API and embedded signing, see other DocuSign alternatives. You may also need to build an interface, an API server and hosting yourself.

Facts, with sources

Every answer links to where we found it. We read the documentation; we did not install it.

Report a correction

QuestionAnswerSourceChecked

Runs on my machine? Yes, Java library you embed in your own application The release is published on Maven Central repository github.com · dss#maven-repository ↗ 1d ago

Code licence LGPL-2.1 (weak copyleft) GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2.1, February 1999 github.com · LICENSE ↗ 1d ago

Model weights licence No separate model weights github.com · dss#readme ↗ 1d ago

Commercial use Yes; LGPL-2.1 conditions apply when you modify and distribute the library GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2.1, February 1999 github.com · LICENSE ↗ 1d ago

Paid services needed? None required This is the official repository for project DSS github.com · dss#readme ↗ 1d ago

Hardware Not specified; README defers to the JVM's own requirements Know the answer? —

Operating systems Any OS with Java 8+; tested on Windows and Linux Operating system: no specific requirements (tested on Windows and Linux). github.com · dss#requirements ↗ 1d ago

Setup effort Hard; add Maven dependencies and write Java code; demo app is built from source To build the DSS Web Application the following modules are required: github.com · dss-demonstrations#readme ↗ 1d ago