Do municipalities accept signatures added in Airplan?

Since June 2026, architects have been submitting applications to Walloon municipalities with annexes signed in Airplan. So far, no refusals or comments have been reported to us. We will update this article if the situation changes.

What the built-in signature actually is

• You draw your signature or import an image, just once.
• Airplan places it in the generated Word document, in the right place in each annex, with the name, place and date.
• The result is equivalent to a scanned signature pasted into the document: once printed, the application looks like one signed by hand.

It is not a qualified electronic signature within the meaning of the eIDAS regulation, and Airplan does not present it as one. The annexes are submitted on paper or, where online submission is open, as a PDF on the regional platform: that document is what carries the signature.

If in doubt in your municipality

Some administrations may prefer a handwritten signature. Two options:

1. Use the “Pas de signature” (no signature) tab in the “Signer” (sign) panel. The name, place and date are filled in, and a blank space is left for signing by hand on the printed version.
2. Combine both: the architect signs in Airplan and the applicant signs by hand, or the other way round.

💡 Tip: if a municipality comments on a signature, email us at bonjour@airplan.be with the name of the municipality. We share it with other users through the incompleteness notices, as we do for any municipal specificity.

And with online submission?

Online submission is opening gradually (pilot phase in 20 municipalities since June 2026) and is becoming mandatory in stages depending on the type of application, until 1 September 2028 for all applications. Applications without an architect (Annex 6) can remain on paper.

Online, validating the application in the regional application, after secure identification, counts as a signature (Article R.IV.32-2 of the CoDT). An architect duly mandated by their client can sign Annex 4 and submit the application on the client’s behalf (SPW FAQ, question 19).

We are following the subject closely: see Using Airplan after digitalisation.