Electronic signatures in the United States

The federal law: the ESIGN Act

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN, Public Law 106-229 of June 30, 2000) is codified at 15 U.S.C. 7001 and following. For any transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce:

• a signature, contract or other record "may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form"; and
• a contract may not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability solely because an electronic signature or electronic record was used in its formation (15 U.S.C. 7001(a)).

The state laws: UETA, and ESRA in New York

The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) is a model law approved in July 1999 by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, now the Uniform Law Commission, for enactment by the states. Its section 7 says:

1. A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.
2. A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in its formation.
3. If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law.
4. If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law.

According to a January 2026 report of the New York City Bar, 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have enacted UETA, and New York is the only state that has not.

New York has its own law, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA, State Technology Law sections 301 to 309). It gives an electronic signature "the same validity and effect as the use of a signature affixed by hand" (section 304(2)).

How the federal and state laws fit together. A state law can modify, limit or supersede ESIGN's general rule only if it enacts UETA as approved in 1999, or sets alternative procedures that are consistent with ESIGN, don't require or give greater legal status to a specific technology and, if enacted after June 30, 2000, refer to ESIGN specifically (15 U.S.C. 7002(a)).

What counts as an electronic signature

ESIGN defines an electronic signature as "an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record" (15 U.S.C. 7006(5)). UETA's definition is essentially the same (section 2(8)). A typed name, a click on "I agree", a drawn signature and an approval with a passkey can all qualify; see is a typed name a legal signature?

The United States has no signature tiers. ESIGN and UETA are technology neutral: there is no US equivalent of the EU's advanced or qualified signatures (electronic vs digital signatures explains those), and no official list of approved signature technologies. The comments published with UETA explain that a security procedure "is not accorded operative legal effect, through the use of presumptions or otherwise" by the Act: it is "simply one method for proving the source or content" of a record or signature.

Conditions that still apply

• Consent. ESIGN doesn't require anyone to use or accept electronic records or signatures, other than a government agency for records that aren't contracts it is a party to (15 U.S.C. 7001(b)(2)). UETA applies only between parties that agreed to conduct transactions electronically, which is "determined from the context and surrounding circumstances, including the parties' conduct" (section 5(b)).
• Retention. Where a law requires a contract to be in writing, an electronic contract may be denied effect if it isn't in a form that can be retained and accurately reproduced by everyone entitled to keep it (15 U.S.C. 7001(e)).
• Contract law. The ordinary rules (offer, acceptance, capacity, fraud) still apply.

Consumer disclosures under ESIGN

When a law requires information to be given to a consumer in writing, ESIGN lets an electronic record satisfy that requirement only if (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)(1)):

1. the consumer has affirmatively consented and hasn't withdrawn consent;
2. before consenting, the consumer received a clear and conspicuous statement of any right to get the record on paper, the right to withdraw consent (with any conditions, consequences or fees), whether the consent covers one transaction or categories of records, how to withdraw consent and update contact details, and how to get a paper copy and whether a fee applies;
3. before consenting, the consumer was told the hardware and software needed, and consented or confirmed consent electronically in a way that reasonably demonstrates they can access the information;
4. if a later change in the hardware or software needed creates a material risk that the consumer can't access or keep the records, the consumer is told the new requirements and their right to withdraw consent without a fee, and point 3 is repeated (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)(1)(D)).

These rules govern disclosures the law requires to be in writing, not every contract a consumer signs, and a consumer's contract can't be denied effect solely because the electronic confirmation in point 3 wasn't obtained (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)(3)).

Documents excluded or with their own rules

ESIGN's general rule doesn't apply to (15 U.S.C. 7003):

• wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, to the extent governed by the law on their creation and execution (UETA also excludes them, section 3(b)(1));
• adoption, divorce and other matters of family law;
• the Uniform Commercial Code, other than sections 1-107 and 1-206 and Articles 2 and 2A, so negotiable instruments (UCC Article 3), such as negotiable promissory notes, fall outside ESIGN and UETA (both have a separate regime for certain electronic "transferable records");
• court orders and notices, and official court documents such as briefs and pleadings;
• notices of utility shut-off; of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure or eviction, or the right to cure, under a credit agreement secured by, or a rental agreement for, an individual's primary residence; of cancellation of health insurance or benefits or life insurance benefits (excluding annuities); and of product recalls or material failures that risk health or safety;
• documents required to accompany hazardous materials.

Other rules apply alongside the e-signature laws:

• Notarized documents. A notary's electronic signature can satisfy a notarization requirement (15 U.S.C. 7001(g); UETA section 11), but the notarial act itself follows state notary law. Remote online notarization depends on the state; New York, for example, allows electronic notarization by audio-video communication under Executive Law 135-c.
• Electronic wills. Some states have their own electronic wills laws with their own formalities, for example Florida (Fla. Stat. 732.522), Washington (its Uniform Electronic Wills Act, from January 1, 2022) and New York (from December 12, 2027).
• Recorded deeds. Whether a county recorder accepts electronic instruments depends on state recording law.
• New York. ESRA doesn't apply to documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care proxies, with some exceptions (section 307).

Proving an electronic signature

An electronic signature can't be kept out of evidence for being electronic: "In a proceeding, evidence of a record or signature may not be excluded solely because it is in electronic form" (UETA section 13). Admissible is not the same as proven, though:

• Authentication. In federal courts, the proponent "must produce evidence sufficient to support a finding that the item is what the proponent claims it is" (Federal Rules of Evidence 901(a)). The rule's examples include "evidence describing a process or system and showing that it produces an accurate result" (901(b)(9)). State courts apply their own rules of evidence.
• Attribution. Under UETA, a signature is attributable to a person "if it was the act of the person", which may be shown "in any manner, including a showing of the efficacy of any security procedure" (section 9(a)). UETA doesn't presume that a signature made with any particular technology is the signer's.

How Attest fits ordinary business agreements

Attest signatures are electronic signatures, recognized for most agreements in the United States under the ESIGN Act and UETA. Attest is built for everyday business agreements such as client contracts, statements of work, NDAs, offer letters and vendor agreements, and its evidence speaks to each point above:

What US law looks at	What Attest records
Attribution (UETA section 9(a))	Each signature is made with a passkey registered to the signer's email address. A passkey is a cryptographic key only the signer controls, unlocked with Face ID, Touch ID, Windows Hello or the device PIN. Attest checks each signature against the passkey's public key. Attest confirms control of the email address and the passkey, not a government ID
Intent to sign (15 U.S.C. 7006(5))	The signer reviews the document, and their passkey signs a statement that begins "I have reviewed and I sign", naming the document and its fingerprint. The passkey must confirm the signer is present and verified
Integrity and process (FRE 901(b)(9))	The statement includes the SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact document and of the signer's entries. The signed state is anchored on the Horizen public blockchain. Change one byte and verification fails. Anyone can re-run every check with the open-source verifier, and each cryptographic check with standard tools
Retention and reproduction (15 U.S.C. 7001(e))	Every party downloads the same sealed PDF: the signed pages, with a "Signed with Attest" stamp on each signature and a seal line at the foot of every page, the certificate of completion, the audit trail up to completion and a "Verify it yourself, without us" page, with the original document, the evidence and an open-source verifier that works without Attest attached inside

A fingerprint (SHA-256 hash) is a short code calculated from a file's contents that changes if a single byte changes. As with any evidence, a court decides how much weight it carries. For the documents excluded above, the rule for that document applies.

Every document is end-to-end encrypted, so Attest can't read it. Signers need no account and never pay, and anyone can verify a signed copy for free at attest.datahubz.com/verify. Your first 2 documents are free, in total, then the Signing plan is $5 a month for 20 documents.