Are electronic signatures legal?

Last reviewed September 21, 2026 · Not legal advice

Yes, for the large majority of business documents signed in the United States. Two laws do almost all of the work, a short list of document types sits outside them, and whether a particular signature holds up comes down to the evidence behind it. Here's how it fits together, and where Siglio's part ends and yours begins.

The short version

Federal law has covered this since 2000. The ESIGN Act says a signature, contract, or record can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic.
The states agree. 49 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act. New York reaches the same result through its own statute.
A few documents are carved out: wills, family-law matters, court filings, and certain consumer notices. Those need ink or a process your state specifically allows.
Legal isn't the same as provable. A signature holds up when you can show who signed, that they meant to, and that the copy you kept is the one they signed. That part is about records, and we cover it below.

1.Two layers of law

U.S. e-signature law runs on two levels that point in the same direction.

Federal: the ESIGN Act (Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. §7001 and following). It applies to transactions in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, which in practice means almost any business deal. It sets a national floor: no signature, contract, or record gets thrown out solely because it's in electronic form.

State: the UETA (Uniform Electronic Transactions Act), a model law published in 1999 and adopted state by state. Illinois became the 49th adopter in 2021. New York never adopted it and instead relies on its own Electronic Signatures and Records Act, which lands in substantially the same place.

The two fit together on purpose. Where a state has enacted the UETA as written, ESIGN largely steps back and lets the state law govern. Where a state's rules would be stricter than ESIGN allows, the federal floor still applies. Either way, the starting answer is the same: electronic counts.

2.What counts as an electronic signature

The legal definition is broad on purpose. ESIGN 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 the record.

Notice what that definition doesn't require. No specific technology, no drawn squiggle, no special certificate. A typed name, a drawn signature, or a click on a clearly labeled button can all qualify. What matters is the intent behind the action and the link between the signature and the document.

Two other points worth knowing:

Nobody is forced into it. Neither law requires anyone to accept electronic signatures. The UETA applies when the parties have agreed to do business electronically, and that agreement can be shown by context and conduct, such as a signer opening your link and completing the document.
A contract formed electronically is still a contract. The usual rules still apply: offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity. Going electronic removes a format objection. It doesn't fix a bad deal.

3.What makes a signature hold up

If a signature is ever challenged, the question is rarely "was it electronic?" It's "can you prove this person signed this document on purpose?" Courts look for the same handful of things. Here's each one, and what a Siglio envelope gives you toward it.

Element	What it means	What Siglio records
Intent	The signer took a deliberate action meant as a signature.	The signer adopts a typed or drawn signature and confirms it before the document completes.
Attribution	You can tie the signature to a specific person.	The signing link goes only to the email address or mobile number you supplied, and the certificate names that address.
Association	The signature is connected to this document, not a different one.	The signature is placed on the document itself, and a certificate page is attached to the same signed PDF.
Timeline	You can show when each step happened.	The certificate records when the request was sent, viewed, and signed, for each signer.
Retention	The record stays accurate and can be reproduced later by anyone entitled to it.	You receive the signed PDF through your completion webhook, and signers get a secure link to their copy. Keeping the record is on you (see below).

Why retention is your job

Siglio deliberately does not keep an archive of your signed documents (our privacy policy explains why). ESIGN's retention rule is satisfied by an electronic record that accurately reflects the signed document and stays accessible to the people entitled to it. The simplest way to meet it: when the completion webhook arrives, download the signed PDF and store it with the rest of that customer's records. One job in your webhook handler, done once.

Attribution is only as strong as the address

Signature evidence points at whoever controls the inbox or phone the link was sent to. If you send to an address you never verified, that's the weak link, not the signature. For higher-stakes documents, confirm the contact details in your own flow before you send, or send by both email and text so two channels point at the same person.

4.Documents with extra rules

ESIGN lists a short set of documents it does not cover, and state UETA versions carry similar exclusions. For these, don't assume an e-signature is enough. Use ink, or a method your state specifically authorizes.

Wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts
Adoption, divorce, and other family-law matters
Court orders, notices, and official court documents such as pleadings and briefs
Most of the Uniform Commercial Code, apart from sales and leases of goods (Articles 2 and 2A) and a couple of general provisions
Notices that utility service such as water, heat, or power is being cut off
Default, repossession, foreclosure, or eviction notices tied to a primary residence
Notices canceling health insurance or life insurance benefits
Product recall or safety-failure notices
Documents that must travel with hazardous materials, pesticides, or other dangerous goods

Separately, anything that has to be notarized, witnessed, or recorded (deeds, many powers of attorney, some affidavits) has its own rules. Many states now allow remote online notarization and electronic recording, but those are specific processes, and a standard e-signature doesn't replace them.

5.Sending to consumers

ESIGN adds one extra step when a law requires you to give a consumer certain information in writing, such as some lending, insurance, or account disclosures. Before you can deliver that information electronically, the consumer has to agree to it after being told:

that they can get the information on paper instead, and whether there's a fee,
how to withdraw consent later,
what hardware and software they'll need to open and keep the records,
and they must consent electronically, in a way that shows they can actually open the format you'll use.

This rule is about the relationship between you and your customer, so it belongs in your own onboarding flow. If your transactions fall under it, collect that consent and keep a record of it before you send the first envelope. Ordinary business-to-business agreements, offer letters, NDAs, and similar documents usually don't trigger it.

6.Where e-signatures are routinely used

Outside the exceptions above, electronic signatures are everyday practice for:

Area	Typical documents
Sales	Order forms, quotes, service agreements, renewals
Hiring and HR	Offer letters, onboarding forms, policy acknowledgments, contractor agreements
Legal and compliance	NDAs, consent forms, waivers, releases
Operations	Vendor agreements, purchase orders, statements of work, change orders
Property	Residential and commercial leases, rental applications, move-in checklists
Services	Intake forms, authorizations, service tickets, delivery confirmations

Some industries layer their own rules on top (healthcare, financial services, government contracting). If yours does, those rules win, and they're worth checking once when you design the flow.

7.Outside the United States

Siglio is built for and directed to the U.S. market, but for reference: most major economies recognize electronic signatures. The European Union's eIDAS regulation says a signature can't be denied legal effect just for being electronic, and it defines three tiers: simple, advanced, and qualified. Only a qualified signature, made with a certified device and a certificate from an approved provider, automatically carries the same weight as a handwritten one. The United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia each have their own statutes that broadly accept electronic signatures.

In eIDAS terms, a Siglio signature is a simple electronic signature. That's the right fit for most commercial documents. If a counterparty or regulator requires an advanced or qualified signature, Siglio is not the tool for that document.

8.The fine print

This page is general information about U.S. e-signature law. It isn't legal advice, and it can't account for your industry, your state, or your specific documents. Laws change, and courts decide individual disputes on their own facts. If a document matters enough that you're wondering whether an e-signature will hold, that's a good moment to ask your own attorney. Questions about how Siglio works are welcome through the support form.