Are electronic signatures legal in the United States?

What do the ESIGN Act and UETA actually require?

Section 7001(a) of the ESIGN Act is the core rule: a signature, contract or other record relating to a transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce may not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. Section 7006(5) defines an electronic signature as an electronic sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign it. A drawn signature, a typed name and a clicked button can all qualify. Intent is the part that matters.

UETA does the same work at state level. Section 7 gives electronic records and signatures legal recognition and says an electronic signature satisfies a law that requires a signature. Section 5 limits UETA to transactions where the parties have agreed to deal electronically, and that agreement can be read from the context and the parties' conduct. Forty-nine states and DC have adopted UETA, Illinois most recently in 2021; New York relies on its Electronic Signatures and Records Act instead. Some states, California among them, added their own exclusions to the uniform text.

Consumers get an extra layer. Under section 7001(c), where another law says information must be given to a consumer in writing, an electronic copy only counts if the consumer has affirmatively consented, has been told about the right to paper copies and to withdraw consent, and has consented electronically in a way that shows they can open the format you are using.

Which documents still need paper, a notary or a court?

Section 7003 of the ESIGN Act carves out a fixed list, and UETA section 3 has a shorter list of its own. These are the documents where the general rule does not help you:

• Wills, codicils and testamentary trusts
• Adoption, divorce and other family law matters
• Most of the Uniform Commercial Code, apart from sections 1-107 and 1-206 and Articles 2 and 2A (sales and leases of goods)
• Court orders, notices and official court documents, including briefs and pleadings
• Notices cancelling or terminating utility services
• Notices of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure or eviction on a primary residence
• Notices cancelling health or life insurance benefits
• Product recall notices and documents that must travel with hazardous materials

Electronic, digital and notarised signatures in US law

US law is technology neutral. Unlike the EU, it has no ladder of simple, advanced and qualified signatures, and no federal licensing of certificate authorities for private contracts. A certificate-based digital signature is simply one way of producing an electronic signature, and it has no special legal status for an ordinary commercial agreement.

Notarisation is separate. Section 7001(g) lets a notary sign electronically, and most states now authorise remote online notarisation under their own statutes, but the notary still has to perform the notarial act. A handful of states also allow electronic wills under separate legislation, often based on the Uniform Electronic Wills Act of 2019. Those are state-specific regimes, not something ESIGN gives you.

What do courts look at when a signature is challenged?

Disputes rarely turn on whether electronic signatures are allowed. They turn on attribution: did this person sign, and did they mean to? UETA section 9 says an electronic signature is attributable to a person if it was their act, and that this can be shown in any manner, including the efficacy of any security procedure used. That is why the record of how the signer was identified matters more than the look of the signature.

Retention counts too. Under section 7001(d), an electronic record satisfies a legal retention requirement only if it accurately reflects the information and stays accessible for later reproduction by everyone entitled to it. Keep the final PDF, not just a link to a portal.

• The signed PDF with every signer's fields written in
• Timestamps for when each signer opened, consented and signed
• How each signer was identified (email address, one-time code)
• IP address and device details
• A fingerprint (hash) of the document so later copies can be compared
• For consumer deals, the ESIGN consent disclosure and the consumer's agreement

Where Sign PDF fits

Sign PDF produces electronic signatures within the ESIGN Act and UETA definitions. Each signer confirms a six-digit code sent to their email, agrees to sign electronically, and signs in the browser. The finished file carries a certificate of completion listing each signer's name, email, IP address, approximate location, device and UTC times, a SHA-256 fingerprint of the original, and a hash-chained audit trail, all sealed with a digital signature and an independent DigiCert timestamp.

That covers the everyday documents US businesses sign: NDAs, offer letters, contractor agreements, sales contracts and leases. It does not cover the section 7003 exclusions, and we do not offer notarisation or remote online notarisation. If a document needs a notary, use your state's RON provider or an in-person notary. If you send consumer disclosures that a statute requires in writing, you are responsible for the section 7001(c) consent step. This page is general information, not legal advice; ask a US lawyer about anything high-stakes.