# Electronic signature

An electronic signature is an electronic sound, symbol or process that a person attaches to a record, or links to it, with the intent to sign.

## In plain words

US federal law defines the term broadly. It doesn't care what the mark looks like. A drawn squiggle, a typed name, a click on a button marked "Sign" and a recorded "yes" on a call can all qualify. What matters is that a person did it, and that they meant to sign that record.

So the word "signature" here names an act, not a picture. The picture of a name on the page is only one trace of that act. The rest of the trace is the record of how it happened.

## An example

A contractor gets an email with a link. They open the agreement on their phone, agree to use electronic records, read the document, type their name in the signature box and press **Sign**. Each step is logged with a time. The typed name is the visible mark. The press of the button, next to words saying what it means, is the act that shows intent.

## How it works in docuinked

Every signature in docuinked is an electronic signature in this sense. The signer opens their own link, sees the [consumer disclosure](/glossary/consumer-disclosure) when it is on, views the document and signs. They can also decline, or ask for paper. Each step goes into a hash-chained [audit trail](/glossary/audit-trail). When everyone has signed, the finished file gets one [PAdES](/glossary/pades) seal with an [RFC 3161 timestamp](/glossary/rfc-3161-timestamp).

Agents never sign. An agent can prepare a draft and ask to send it. Only the named signer can sign, on their own page. See [approvals](/docs/approvals).

## Common confusions

**Electronic versus digital.** People use the words as if they mean the same thing. They don't. An electronic signature is a legal idea about a person agreeing. A [digital signature](/glossary/digital-signature) is cryptography over the bytes of a file. docuinked uses both: people sign electronically, and the finished PDF carries one digital seal.

**Electronic versus scanned.** A scan of a [wet signature](/glossary/wet-signature) pasted into a PDF is an image. Whether it counts depends on who placed it and why. The image alone proves little.

**Valid versus provable.** The law says a signature can't be refused just for being electronic. That doesn't make every one easy to prove. Our [legal guide](/guides/is-an-electronic-signature-legal) covers what decides a dispute.

## Related terms

- [ESIGN Act](/glossary/esign-act) and [UETA](/glossary/ueta), the US laws behind the definition
- [eIDAS](/glossary/eidas), the EU rules with three levels
- [Audit trail](/glossary/audit-trail), the record that backs a signature up

## Sources

Checked 2026-11-07.

- [15 USC 7006, definitions](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7006)
- [15 USC 7001, general rule](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/7001)

This page is general information, not legal advice.

## Common questions

### Does a click on an "I agree" button count as an electronic signature?

It can. The definition includes a "process", and a click is one. What makes it hold is clear wording next to the button and a record that this person clicked it.

### Does an electronic signature have to look like handwriting?

No. Nothing in the US definition requires a handwritten look. docuinked lets signers draw or type, and both are recorded the same way.

### Can a voice recording be an electronic signature?

The federal definition names "sound", so in principle yes. docuinked doesn't take voice signatures. It works with PDFs signed on a web page.