E-signature legality
What the law asks of an electronic signatureand how we meet it.
US e-signature law does not name a technology. It names a handful of things that have to be true about a signature. Here is what those are, and where in eSignPro each one is handled.
- The ESIGN Act and UETA, in plain language
- Four legal requirements, each mapped to a feature
The laws
Three laws set most of the rules
They differ in wording, but they agree on the same handful of ideas below.
The ESIGN Act (United States, federal)
Says an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect just because it is electronic, as long as both sides agreed to do business that way and the record can be kept and reproduced.
UETA (United States, state law)
Adopted by nearly every state. It sets the same baseline as ESIGN at the state level: an electronic record and signature count, if the parties agreed to sign electronically.
ESRA (New York)
New York did not adopt UETA. Its Electronic Signatures and Records Act gives an electronic signature the same validity and effect as a handwritten one, so the same principles hold there too.
What makes it enforceable
Four things a signature needs, and where we build each one
Intent to sign
The signer has to mean to sign, not stumble into it.
A signer has to actively place their signature on the document; nothing is pre-filled or defaulted for them.
Consent to do business electronically
The signer has to agree to sign electronically before they can sign.
eSignPro withholds the document and its fields until the signer accepts an ESIGN and UETA consent screen, so consent happens before signing, not after.
Association with the record
The signature has to be clearly tied to the one document it was applied to.
Every signature is logged against the exact document version, with the signer’s IP address and user agent, and the finished file is hashed with SHA-256 so it can be checked against that record later.
Retention of the record
The signed record has to be kept and reproducible in the same form it was signed.
The completed PDF is stored with its audit trail and audit certificate attached, and can be downloaded again in the form it was signed in for as long as your plan’s retention period.
What the law leaves out
A few documents still need ink
The ESIGN Act does not cover these, and state law can add more. General information, not a legal opinion for your specific document.
Wills and family law
Wills, codicils and testamentary trusts; adoption, divorce and other family-law matters; and most of the Uniform Commercial Code outside Articles 2 and 2A.
Court documents
Court orders and notices, and official court documents such as briefs and pleadings.
Notices about a home or utilities
Notices of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure or eviction, or of the right to cure, under a credit or rental agreement for a primary residence; and notices cutting off water, heat or power.
Insurance, recalls and hazardous materials
Cancellation of health insurance or benefits, or of life insurance benefits other than annuities; recall or failure notices for products that risk health or safety; and documents that must accompany hazardous materials.
This page gives general information about electronic signature law. It is not legal advice, and it does not cover every document type or state law. Talk to a lawyer before you decide how to sign something that matters.
Questions
Legality questions
people ask first.
Is an eSignPro signature legally binding?
For most US contracts, yes. Under the ESIGN Act and UETA, an electronic signature made with consent, a clear intent to sign, and a retained record is treated the same as a handwritten one. A few document types are excluded, listed above; check with your own counsel for those.
Is this page legal advice?
No. It explains the general legal framework and how our product is built against it. Whether a specific document or transaction can be signed electronically depends on the state and the document type, so ask a lawyer for anything that matters.
What should I do with a document the law excludes?
Sign it the way the governing law requires, which is usually on paper with a handwritten signature, and sometimes in front of a notary. State law can add to the federal list, so confirm with counsel before you send one electronically.
How do you prove consent happened?
The consent screen is a required step before a signer can see the fields or sign, and accepting it is written to the audit log with a timestamp, so the record shows consent came before the signature.