Is an electronic signature legal?
Yes, in the US and for most business documents. Under federal law, a signature or contract can't be denied legal effect just because it is electronic. But that rule only gets you in the door. Whether a given signature holds up depends on what you can prove.
By docuinked. Published 2026-11-07, updated 2026-11-07.
The basic rule
The federal ESIGN Act says a signature, contract or record tied to a transaction in interstate or foreign commerce "may not be denied legal effect, validity, or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form." Nearly every state has a matching law, UETA. New York has its own act.
An electronic signature doesn't need to look like anything in particular. The law defines it as an electronic sound, symbol or process, attached to or logically tied to a record, made by a person intending to sign. A click can do it. A typed name can do it, if the person meant it.
The word that does the work is intent
In one California case, a typed name at the foot of a settlement email didn't count, because nothing showed the person meant to sign an agreement that way. A clear action next to clear words is what shows intent. That is why signing pages spell out what clicking means.
Courts care about the explanation
Courts accept e-signatures readily. What they don't accept is a party who can only point at the signature. In *Fabian v. Renovate America* (Cal. Ct. App. 2019), a block saying "DocuSigned by" with an ID code lost, because nobody explained who sent it, how, or how the signature got there. In *Aerotek v. Boyd* (Tex. 2021), unique logins and a time-stamped log, with an HR manager showing how the system worked, won. These details come from law firm summaries, so read the opinions before you cite them.
The lesson is plain. A signature passes until someone denies it. After that, you need a step-by-step account. We wrote more on this in the audit trail guide.
What is excluded
Some documents fall outside ESIGN, so that law doesn't validate them. They include wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, family law matters such as adoption and divorce, court orders and papers, and certain notices: utility shutoffs, foreclosure and eviction, health and life insurance cancellation, and product recalls. Other law may still allow some of these, and state rules are moving. Treat them as needing a lawyer.
What about other countries?
Canada, the EU and the UK each have their own rules. The EU's eIDAS regulation has levels, and only some are available from a provider like us. docuinked is built for the US first and is designed to support ESIGN and UETA. It doesn't offer EU advanced or qualified signatures.
Sources
Checked 2026-11-07.
- 15 USC 7001, general rule
- 15 USC 7003, exclusions
- 15 USC 7006, definitions
- Hudson Cook on Fabian
- DLA Piper on Aerotek v. Boyd
- National Law Review on J.B.B. Investment v. Fair
This guide is general information, not legal advice.
Common questions
Is a typed name a valid electronic signature?
It can be, if the person typed it intending to sign. The hard part is proving that intent later, which is why a clear signing step and a record matter more than the form of the mark.
Do both parties have to agree to sign electronically?
Under UETA, yes, though agreement can come from context and conduct. Asking outright removes the argument, so a good signing flow records that consent as its own step.
Can I e-sign a will?
Generally not under ESIGN or UETA, which exclude wills. A few states have their own electronic wills laws. Don't use an e-signature service for a will unless a lawyer in your state tells you how.
Related
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