Are electronic signatures legal in the US? ESIGN, UETA and the exceptions

Leases, job paperwork and client contracts in the United States are signed online all the time. Does an e-signature count? Almost always, yes. But the law has a precise list of exceptions, special rules for consumers, and a few places where a notary or a county recorder still has the last word.

The short answer

• Electronic signatures are valid across the US. The federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN), signed in 2000 and codified at 15 U.S.C. 7001 and following, says a signature, contract or record relating to a transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form.
• Every state has a matching rule. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), a 1999 model law, has been adopted by 49 states and the District of Columbia. New York did not adopt UETA; it uses its own Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA), which reaches a similar result.
• US law is technology-neutral. There is no "qualified" tier as in Europe. A typed name, a drawn signature, a click on "I agree" or a certificate-based digital signature can all be valid. What matters is intent to sign and being able to prove who signed.
• Some documents are excluded: wills and testamentary trusts, adoption, divorce and other family-law matters, most of the Uniform Commercial Code, court papers, and certain notices to consumers.
• Notarised and recorded documents follow their own rules, though remote online notarization and electronic recording are now widely available.

The law: ESIGN and UETA

What an electronic signature is

Both laws define an electronic signature very broadly: 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 it. That covers almost anything: a typed name at the end of an email, a scanned signature image, a tick box, or a cryptographic signature made with a certificate.

ESIGN: the federal floor

ESIGN applies nationwide to transactions affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Its core rule is simple: a contract or signature is not invalid just because it is electronic, and a contract is not unenforceable just because an electronic signature or record was used to form it.

ESIGN also says nobody is forced to use electronic records: both sides must agree to deal electronically, although that agreement can be inferred from conduct. And where a law requires a record to be retained, an electronic copy works if it accurately reflects the information and stays accessible to those entitled to it.

UETA: the state law

UETA covers the same ground at state level: a record or signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic, an electronic record satisfies a law requiring a writing, and an electronic signature satisfies a law requiring a signature. It applies only where the parties have agreed to conduct the transaction electronically.

Illinois (2021) and Washington (2020) were among the last states to adopt UETA, replacing older laws of their own. ESIGN lets a state that has enacted UETA as approved by the Uniform Law Commission largely rely on its own statute, which is why the two laws sit side by side.

New York's ESRA gives electronic signatures the same validity as handwritten ones, but it has its own scope and exclusions and is administered by the state's Office of Information Technology Services. If a New York law is involved, check ESRA rather than assuming UETA.

Consumer consent: the part businesses miss

Where a law requires information to be given to a consumer in writing, ESIGN (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)) lets it be delivered electronically only if the consumer has affirmatively consented and, before consenting, received a clear statement explaining:

• the right to receive the information on paper, and any fee for doing so;
• the right to withdraw consent, and the consequences of withdrawing;
• whether the consent covers only this transaction or a category of records;
• how to request a paper copy and update contact details;
• the hardware and software needed to access and keep the records.

The consumer must consent electronically in a way that reasonably demonstrates they can access the records in the format used. This rule is about delivering required disclosures, not about whether a contract signature is valid, but lenders, insurers and landlords sending statutory notices need to get it right.

Documents you cannot sign electronically (or need a special process)

ESIGN lists its exceptions in 15 U.S.C. 7003. UETA's exclusions are similar, though each state can adjust them.

"Excluded" means ESIGN does not force these to be accepted electronically. It does not always mean paper is required. A state law, court rule or agency may separately allow electronic versions. Promissory notes, for example, fall under UCC Article 3, but ESIGN and UETA create a separate category of transferable records that lets mortgage notes exist electronically when the system controlling them meets the law's requirements.

Wills

Wills are outside ESIGN and UETA, so whether you can sign one electronically depends entirely on your state's wills law. The Uniform Electronic Wills Act (2019) has been enacted in Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah and Washington, plus the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands. Several other states passed their own electronic-will statutes, including Nevada, Indiana, Arizona, Florida, Illinois (the Electronic Wills and Remote Witnesses Act of 2021) and Maryland, with differing rules on remote witnesses, certified paper copies and storage by a "qualified custodian". New York enacted an Electronic Wills Act in December 2025 that does not take effect until June 2027 and requires the will to be filed with the state court system. In most other states a will still needs a paper original, a wet signature and witnesses. See Can you sign a will electronically?.

Notaries, deeds and county recorders

Remote online notarization

A document that must be notarised (an affidavit, many powers of attorney, a deed) needs a notary, whatever signature method you use. Most states now have permanent laws authorising remote online notarization (RON), where you appear before a commissioned notary by live audio-video, prove your identity online and sign electronically; the notary applies an electronic seal and certificate. The rules (which platforms, which ID checks, whether the signer must be in the state) differ by state. California is the notable holdout: it passed a RON law in 2023 (SB 696), but California notaries cannot perform online notarizations until the Secretary of State's system for it is up and running. Many states also permit in-person electronic notarization.

Real estate

Contracts to buy or sell a home, listing agreements and residential leases are ordinary contracts and are routinely e-signed. The deed is different: it usually has to be notarised and then recorded with the county recorder. Most states have adopted the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (URPERA), which lets recorders accept electronic documents and electronic notarisation, and many counties accept e-recording through approved submitters. Whether your county does, and in what format, is a question for the recorder or your title company. See Can you e-sign a property deed or sale contract?.

Common situations

Employment

Offer letters, employment agreements, handbooks and policy acknowledgments can be signed electronically. Form I-9 may be signed electronically if the employer's system meets the Department of Homeland Security's requirements for electronic I-9s in 8 CFR 274a.2: controls that protect the integrity of stored records and block unauthorised access, a signature that cannot be altered after signing, an audit trail of every action on the form, and a way to produce legible copies for an inspection. An employer that uses electronic signatures without meeting those standards is treated as not having properly completed the form. See Can an employment contract be signed electronically?.

Leases

Residential and commercial leases are generally fine to e-sign. Watch the consumer-consent rules if the landlord will deliver legally required notices electronically, and remember that eviction and default notices for a primary residence are on ESIGN's excluded list.

Tax and federal forms

The IRS sets its own methods under Internal Revenue Code section 6061 and the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM 10.10.1). E-filed individual returns are signed with a PIN, and the IRM lists the specific forms that may carry an electronic or digital signature. A pandemic-era allowance the IRS made permanent in 2023. For those listed forms, a typed name in the signature block or a scanned image of a handwritten signature can be accepted. Other agencies publish their own rules, and many accept signatures only through their own portals.

Company documents

Board consents, shareholder agreements and stock purchase agreements are routinely e-signed. Delaware and most other states expressly allow electronic signatures on corporate documents and consents.

Courts

Federal and state courts use their own e-filing systems, where filings are signed by the attorney's login or an "/s/" signature. That is a court rule, not ESIGN.

Is a platform e-signature enough if it is challenged?

US law does not grade signatures, so the fight is about attribution: showing the signature was the act of the person. UETA says this can be shown in any manner, including the efficacy of a security procedure. Courts look at the evidence around a signature: the email address it went to, access codes, timestamps, IP addresses and whether the document was altered. That is why an audit trail matters more in the US than the style of signature. See Is an e-signature from an online platform legally binding?.

How to sign with KovaPDF

• Contracts, leases, offer letters, NDAs, invoices, approvals: use Request Signatures. Add each signer, set the order, place signature, initials, date and text fields, and optionally give each person an access code. Signers use a private email link and need no account. When everyone has signed, all parties receive the PDF with a certificate of completion (document fingerprint, names, emails, open and sign times, IP addresses and browsers), and the file is sealed with a trusted timestamp so any later change shows up in a signature checker. These are simple electronic signatures with an audit trail. Exactly the kind ESIGN and UETA recognise.
• Just you, filling in a form: Sign PDF lets you draw, type or upload a signature and place it on the page.
• You have a certificate as a .pfx or .p12 file (some professional, engineering or government-issued certificates come this way). Digital Signature creates a PAdES signature with a trusted timestamp and long-term validation data where the issuer publishes revocation information. Certificates kept on a smart card, such as federal PIV cards, cannot be used on any website.
• Checking a signed PDF you received: Verify PDF Signature tells you whether it changed after signing and who signed it.

What no online tool can do: act as a notary, record a deed, or turn a will into a valid electronic will in a state that does not allow one. KovaPDF can still help you prepare the PDF for those steps.