This paper gives an overview of the archival issues that relate to digitally

signed documents. First, by way of introduction, the advanced digital signature is presented

briefly. In the second part, a number of problems are discussed that present themselves

when a digital signature is used as a proof of authenticity and integrity for digital documents

in general. In particular, it is also being investigated whether it makes any sense for

the archivist to digitally sign all electronic records under his or her management. Problems

relating to the (medium) long-term archiving of digitally signed documents are dealt with

in the third part. After an overview of the sticking points for long-term validation

(‘‘Archival issues’’) a number of possible solutions are discussed (‘‘Solutions for long-term

archiving’’).