Two laws, one result
In the United States, electronic signatures have been broadly valid since 2000. Two laws do the work. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) is a model law published by the Uniform Law Commission in 1999 and adopted state by state. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) is a federal law passed in 2000. It sits in Title 15 of the United States Code, starting at section 7001.
Forty-nine states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have adopted UETA. New York has not. It has its own law, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act, which reaches a similar result. Where a state has adopted UETA in its standard form, ESIGN largely steps back and lets the state law govern. Where a state has not, or has changed UETA in ways that conflict with ESIGN, the federal law fills the gap.
For a business sending ordinary contracts, the result is the same everywhere: a signature, contract or record cannot be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic. This article is general information, not legal advice.
What counts as an electronic signature
Both laws define the term broadly. Under UETA, an electronic signature is 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 the record. ESIGN uses nearly the same words.
That definition does not require any particular technology. A typed name at the bottom of an email, a drawn signature on a phone, or a click on a Sign button can all qualify. The key word is intent. The person has to mean to sign. That is why a good signing process asks the signer to take a clear, deliberate action, and records that they did.
UETA adds two useful rules. Section 5 says the law applies only when the parties have agreed to do business electronically, and that agreement can be read from context and conduct. Section 9 says an electronic signature is attributable to a person if it was their act, which can be shown in any manner, including by the security procedure used. This is where identity checks and event logs matter.
The consumer consent rules in ESIGN
ESIGN has an extra layer for consumers. If another law requires that information be given to a consumer in writing, you can deliver it electronically only if the consumer has agreed after receiving certain disclosures. Section 101(c) of ESIGN lists them. Before consenting, the consumer must be told:
That they have the right to receive the information on paper, and whether paper costs anything. That they can withdraw consent, and what happens if they do. Whether the consent covers only this transaction or a category of records. How to ask for a paper copy. And what hardware and software they need to open and keep the records.
The consumer must then consent electronically in a way that reasonably shows they can access the information in the form you will use. If your hardware or software requirements change in a way that could stop them reading the records, you have to tell them and give them a chance to withdraw.
eSora Sign shows an electronic records and signatures consent screen before a signer can open a document, records the time they agreed, and includes that consent in the evidence pack. If your documents fall under specific consumer disclosure rules, review the wording with your lawyer and add your own disclosure text where needed.
What ESIGN and UETA leave out
Both laws exclude some documents. ESIGN, in section 7003, does not apply to:
Wills, codicils and testamentary trusts. State laws on adoption, divorce and other family law matters. Most of the Uniform Commercial Code, except sections 1-107 and 1-206 and Articles 2 and 2A, which cover sales and leases of goods. Court orders, notices and official court documents, including briefs and pleadings.
ESIGN also says its rules do not let you replace these consumer notices with electronic versions: notices that utility services will be cut off; notices of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure or eviction for a primary residence; notices that health or life insurance is cancelled or terminated; product recall notices about health or safety; and documents that must accompany hazardous materials.
UETA's exclusions are similar but not identical. It does not cover wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, or most of the Uniform Commercial Code. States sometimes add their own exclusions when they adopt it, so check the version in your state.
Notarization and regulated records
ESIGN and UETA both allow a notary's signature to be electronic, but they do not replace notary law. Many states now have remote online notarization statutes that set their own rules for identity proofing, recording and approved platforms. If a document must be notarized, follow your state's notary rules.
Some industries add requirements on top of ESIGN. Companies whose records fall under FDA rules in 21 CFR Part 11 need specific controls for electronic records and signatures. Financial services firms may have record-keeping rules from their regulators. eSora Sign does not claim to meet these sector-specific rules on its own. If you work in a regulated industry, review your process with your compliance team.
Evidence and record keeping
UETA section 12 says that if a law requires a record to be kept, an electronic record satisfies it if it accurately reflects the information and stays accessible for later reference. That is a practical standard: keep the final file, keep it readable, and be able to show it has not changed.
In a dispute, the questions are almost always the same. Who signed? How do you know? What exactly did they sign? When? eSora Sign answers these with a Certificate of Completion on every document, an event log with times, IP addresses and devices, a tamper seal, a trusted timestamp on paid plans, and SHA-256 fingerprints of the final file. You can download them together as an evidence pack.
A quick checklist for US senders
Confirm the document type is not on an exclusion list in your state.
If you are sending to consumers and another law requires written notice, give the ESIGN disclosures and capture consent.
Choose an identity check that fits the risk. Email code for most documents, SMS or access code for more sensitive ones.
Keep the signed PDF, the certificate and the event log together, and set a retention rule that matches your record-keeping obligations.
This article is general information, not legal advice.