Are electronic signatures legal in Canada?

Yes. Electronic signatures are valid in Canada, but which law answers the question depends on where the requirement to sign comes from. Part 2 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) provides electronic alternatives where federal laws contemplate paper, and it governs requirements under federal law only; provincial laws govern requirements under provincial law (PIPEDA, section 32). Contract law in Canada is largely provincial, so for a typical sale, service or supply agreement the provincial Act is usually the one to read.

This page uses Ontario's Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 as the worked example. Other provinces have their own Acts, which are not covered here; check the one for the province whose law governs your document.

This page is general information, not legal advice. The law was checked on 22 October 2026.

Two layers: federal and provincial

The split matters because the two layers work differently.

Federal law (PIPEDA Part 2). Electronic signatures are not accepted across federal law automatically. A requirement under a provision of federal law for a signature is satisfied by an electronic signature only if that federal law or provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3 and the regulations for that provision are complied with (PIPEDA, section 43). If a federal statute or form asks for your customer's or employee's signature, the first question is whether that provision appears in one of those schedules.

Provincial law (Ontario). The Ontario Act takes a general approach: it accepts electronic documents and signatures across Ontario law, subject to its own exclusions and conditions, set out below. When the signing requirement comes from an Ontario statute, or you simply want your contract to be enforceable in Ontario, this is the Act that applies.

What Ontario's Act recognises

• Electronic documents. Information or a document is not invalid or unenforceable only because it is electronic (Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (Ontario), sections 4 and 5).
• Writing. A legal requirement that something be in writing is satisfied by an electronic document that is accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference (sections 4 and 5).
• Signatures. A legal requirement that a document be signed is satisfied by an electronic signature (section 11). Two qualifications apply: reliability and method requirements for prescribed documents under subsections 11(3) and (4), and the rules for public bodies in section 17.
• Retention and originals. A requirement to retain a document is satisfied by an electronic document kept in its original format, or in a format that accurately represents its information, as long as it is accessible for subsequent reference by anyone entitled to it (section 12).
• Contracts. An offer, an acceptance or anything material to forming or performing a contract may be expressed electronically, including by clicking on a screen, unless the parties agree otherwise. A contract is not invalid only because it is electronic (section 19).

What makes an electronic signature hold up

The Ontario Act defines an electronic signature as electronic information that a person creates or adopts in order to sign a document and that is in, attached to or associated with the document (Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (Ontario), section 1). That definition points to what you should be able to show if a signature is challenged:

• Who signed. The information has to be created or adopted by a person, so you need a way to connect the signature to the individual you sent it to.
• Intent to sign. It must be created or adopted in order to sign, so the signer should take a deliberate signing action, not simply open a file.
• Connection to the document. It must be in, attached to or associated with the document, so the signature and the signed text should stay together.
• A record you can produce later. Writing and retention requirements depend on the document staying accessible for subsequent reference (sections 4, 5 and 12).

PIPEDA's basic definition is broad: one or more letters, characters, numbers or other symbols in digital form incorporated in, attached to or associated with an electronic document (PIPEDA, subsection 31(1)). A typed name can meet it. What persuades a court or the other side is usually the record of how that name got there, which is why the audit trail matters as much as the mark itself.

Levels of signature

PIPEDA distinguishes two levels:

• Electronic signature: the broad definition above (PIPEDA, subsection 31(1)).
• Secure electronic signature: one that results from a technology or process prescribed by regulations under subsection 48(1) (PIPEDA, subsection 31(1)). A technology or process may be prescribed only if it can be proved that the signature is unique to the person, the process is under the person's sole control, it identifies the person, and it can show whether the document changed after signing (PIPEDA, subsection 48(2)).

A secure electronic signature is needed where federal law requires a signature to be witnessed: each signatory and each witness must sign with one, the provision must be listed in Schedule 2 or 3, and the regulations must be complied with (PIPEDA, section 46).

The Ontario Act has a single definition of electronic signature (section 1). Extra reliability and method requirements apply only to prescribed documents, under subsections 11(3) and (4) (section 11). Which documents are prescribed is set outside the sections described here, so check before relying on a simple signature for a document that may be prescribed.

Documents excluded or needing extra formalities

Practical checklist for your business

1. Work out which layer applies. If the requirement to sign or put something in writing comes from federal law, PIPEDA Part 2 governs; if it comes from provincial law, the provincial Act does (PIPEDA, section 32).
2. Check the exclusions before you send. Keep wills, testamentary trusts, powers of attorney, negotiable instruments and most documents of title off your e-signing flow in Ontario (Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (Ontario), section 31).
3. For federal requirements, check the schedules. Confirm the provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3 and follow its regulations (PIPEDA, section 43). If a witness is required, plan for secure electronic signatures (PIPEDA, section 46).
4. Get agreement to sign electronically. Electronic acceptance works unless the parties agree otherwise (Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (Ontario), section 19). Make sure your terms do not require paper, and say in the document that the parties agree to sign electronically.
5. Identify each signer. Send each person their own signing link to a contact you know is theirs, so you can show they created or adopted the signature (section 1).
6. Keep the audit trail with the document. Store the signed file together with the record of who signed, when and how, so the signature stays associated with the document (section 1).
7. Keep records accessible. Store the signed document in its original format or one that accurately represents it, where anyone entitled to it can retrieve it later (sections 5 and 12).
8. Flag public bodies and prescribed documents. If a public body is a party, or the document may be prescribed, check the extra rules before using a standard e-signature (section 11).