ueta-and-esign-act

UETA & ESIGN Act

Information about the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)
and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN).

What is the UETA and ESIGN Act?

You may see the terms ‘UETA’ and ‘ESign Act’ referred to on this site and elsewhere in connection with our legally binding documents signed online.

These are both regulatory acts drawn up by the US government to provide legal guidelines for ensuring the validity of electronic records and documents signed online.

  • The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (‘UETA’) is an Act adopted by 47 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  • The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (‘ESIGN’) was passed at the federal level in 2000.

What Do These Acts Mean?

Together these Acts establish guidelines by which electronic records and signatures achieve the same legal standing as traditional paper documents and handwritten signatures.

It states that: A document or signature cannot be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.

However, in order to achieve this equal standing, almost all documents signed between parties must meet the minimum requirements set down by these two Acts before they can be deemed ‘legal and binding’.

Basic Requirements for Online Document Signing

Contained within these Acts are several key requirements that parties signing documents online need to be aware of, including:

  1. INTENT TO SIGN MUST BE CLEAR
  • A signature is only valid if the signer intends to sign the document and there is no possibility of forgery.
  1. THE SIGNATURE MUST BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE RECORD

To meet the requirements of ESIGN and UETA, our system used to capture the electronic transaction does the following:

  • Keeps an associated record that details how the signature was captured, and
  • Make a textual or graphic statement that can be added to the signed record.
  1. THERE MUST BE CLEAR CONSENT TO DO BUSINESS ELECTRONICALLY

This stipulation is mutually agreed between businesses, to consent to do business in this way and the parties have agreed that they:

  • Have affirmatively consented to use electronic records for the transaction; and
  • Have not withdrawn their consent.
  1. THERE MUST BE ACCESS TO RECORDS

These Acts also state that electronically-signed documents are only valid if they are capable of being retained and are available for later reference by all parties involved in the contract.

  1. NO TAMPERING OF DOCUMENTS

If a document has been tampered with in any way before it is signed it may be rendered invalid. Therefore our technology checks and measures to ensure that both parties are signing an original, in-tact document.

Our Contracts Are Legally Binding.

Contracts that are signed using the technology on this website will hold up to legal scrutiny, our encrypted signing process and comprehensive audit trail details exactly who signed, what, and when. This goes above and beyond what is expected to meet ESIGN and UETA guidelines.

General compliance with ESIGN and UETA terms and conditions

By using the electronic Contract and Signature technology on this website you agree that: 

• The process by which you have signed is clear and unambiguous
• The terms and agreements have been viewed and agreed to
• The language in these documents is readily understandable