XAdES · XML Advanced Electronic Signature
The PAdES equivalent for XML documents.
What it is
ETSI's profile for cryptographic signatures embedded in XML documents. Same four conformance levels as PAdES (B-B / B-T / B-LT / B-LTA). Common in government-to-government workflows where the document is an XML record rather than a PDF.
Scope
Government invoicing (Italy's FatturaPA, Spain's Facturae), public-sector procurement, EU Open Data formats. Less common in commercial B2B contracts, where PAdES dominates.
What letssign.now does
We accept XAdES files for verification on /verify — they're routed through the EU DSS (eIDValidator) since pyHanko is PDF-only. For signing we generate PAdES, not XAdES; XAdES production is a backlog item driven by demand.
Deeper detail
Enveloped vs detached vs envelopingExpandClose
XAdES allows the signature to be embedded inside the XML (enveloped), stored separately (detached), or wrap the XML (enveloping). Most government workflows use enveloped XAdES inside a CAdES wrapper for cross-format archival.
Related standards
The frameworks above interlock. Each linked page covers one in full.
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