Are electronic signatures legal?

The ESIGN Act

The federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), passed in 2000, says that a signature, contract or record in interstate or foreign commerce may not be denied legal effect just because it is electronic.

It defines an electronic signature broadly: an electronic sound, symbol or process that is attached to or logically associated with a record and adopted by a person with the intent to sign. A drawn or typed signature on a web page can qualify.

Where a law requires that a consumer receive information in writing, ESIGN allows an electronic copy only after the consumer has agreed to electronic records, following a disclosure of their rights, such as the right to a paper copy.

UETA and state law

Most states have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA): 49 states and the District of Columbia. New York has its own law, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA), which also generally recognises electronic signatures.

UETA applies when the people involved have agreed to do business electronically. That agreement can be shown by what they do, not only by what they write.

Documents that are excluded or need more

Both laws leave some documents out, and other laws can add requirements. Common examples:

• wills, codicils and testamentary trusts;
• adoption, divorce and other family-law matters;
• court orders, notices and other official court documents;
• certain notices, such as utility shut-off, default, foreclosure or eviction notices for a primary residence, cancellation of health or life insurance, and product recalls;
• some commercial documents governed by the Uniform Commercial Code;
• documents that must be notarised, witnessed, or filed in a set form.

Whether a particular document can be signed electronically depends on the law that applies to it. If it is on this list, or you are not sure, ask a lawyer before you rely on an electronic signature.

What helps an electronic signature hold up

If a signature is ever disputed, the questions are usually who signed, whether they meant to sign, and whether the document changed afterwards. Good evidence answers them:

• Consent: each signer agreed to use electronic records and signatures.
• Intent: the signer took a clear action to sign.
• Identity: a record of how each signer was reached and checked.
• Integrity: proof that the document has not changed since it was signed.
• A record of events: who did what, and when.

How mohar.ink records that evidence

• Consent: by default, each signer reads an electronic records disclosure and agrees to it before seeing the document. The time and the version of the text are recorded.
• Identity: every recipient uses a personal email link, and the sender can add an access code or a 6-digit email code. The method used is recorded.
• Events: every view, consent, field and signature is recorded with the time, IP address and browser, in an audit trail where each event’s hash feeds into the next, so a changed or removed event shows.
• Integrity: the completed PDF carries a digital seal with a trusted timestamp. If the file is changed afterwards, the seal no longer checks out.
• Copies: everyone gets the sealed PDF and a certificate of completion by email, and anyone with the document ID can check the record on the verify page.

About the mohar.ink seal

mohar.ink seals documents with its own certificate, not one issued by an outside certificate authority. PDF readers therefore show the seal’s validity as unknown. That message is about who issued the certificate, not about whether the document changed.

To confirm the seal is ours, compare its fingerprint with the one on the verify page. How to verify a signed PDF shows how.

Outside the United States

Other countries have their own laws, for example eIDAS in the European Union. Check the rules that apply where you and the other signers are.