Electronic signatures in the United States: ESIGN and state UETA laws

Yes. Electronic signatures and electronic contracts are valid in the United States. The federal ESIGN Act provides that, in any transaction in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, a signature, contract or other record may not be denied legal effect, validity or enforceability solely because it is electronic (15 U.S.C. § 7001(a)). State law adds a second layer through the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), which says the same for records and signatures (UETA section 7). For most contracts with US customers, suppliers and staff, an e-signature works. The work for a business sits in three places: consumer notices, excluded records, and the evidence you keep.

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

How ESIGN and state UETA laws fit together

ESIGN is the federal floor. It applies to transactions in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce (15 U.S.C. § 7001(a)).

States can take over for matters of state law. Under 15 U.S.C. § 7002(a)(1), a state law may modify, limit or supersede ESIGN's general rule as to state law in two cases:

• it is an enactment of UETA as recommended in 1999, or
• it sets out alternative procedures consistent with ESIGN.

There is a limit. Where a state's UETA carves out scope exceptions that conflict with ESIGN, those exceptions are preempted (15 U.S.C. § 7002(a)(1)).

In practice you work with both: ESIGN for the consumer consent rules and the federal exclusions, and your state's UETA for agreement, attribution and evidence. The UETA section numbers on this page are those of the 1999 uniform act. Each state enacts its own version and may list further exclusions (UETA section 3(b)), so check the enacted text in the states where you and your counterparties are.

What the law recognises

• Signatures. An electronic signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic (15 U.S.C. § 7001(a); UETA section 7). Under UETA section 7, an electronic signature satisfies a law requiring a signature.
• Contracts. A contract may not be denied legal effect solely because an electronic signature or electronic record was used in its formation (15 U.S.C. § 7001(a); UETA section 7).
• Writing. Under UETA section 7, an electronic record satisfies a law requiring a writing. For written information owed to consumers, ESIGN adds conditions (see below).
• Retention and originals. A requirement to retain a contract or record is met by an electronic record that accurately reflects its information and remains accessible to everyone entitled to it, for the required period, in a form that can be accurately reproduced (15 U.S.C. § 7001(d)(1)). UETA section 12 also covers a requirement to keep an original: an electronic record that accurately reflects the information after it was first generated in final form, and remains accessible, satisfies it.

What counts as an electronic signature is broad: 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 (15 U.S.C. § 7006(5)).

Consumer consent when a law requires written notice

This is the step businesses most often miss. Where a law requires information to be given to a consumer in writing, an electronic record satisfies that law only if all of the following are true (15 U.S.C. § 7001(c)(1)):

1. Before consenting, the consumer was given a clear and conspicuous statement of their right to paper copies and their right to withdraw consent.
2. The consumer was told the hardware and software needed to access and keep the information.
3. The consumer affirmatively consented and has not withdrawn that consent.
4. The consumer consented electronically in a way that reasonably demonstrates they can access the information.

This rule is about required written information to consumers. It does not stop a consumer from signing a contract electronically, but if the same document carries disclosures a law says must be in writing, build the consent step in first.

What makes an electronic signature hold up as evidence

The law removes the objection that a record is electronic. It does not prove who signed. These provisions tell you what you need to be able to show:

• Intent to sign. The signature must be executed or adopted with the intent to sign the record (15 U.S.C. § 7006(5)). A deliberate signing action, separate from simply opening or reading the document, helps show this.
• Agreement to transact electronically. UETA applies only between parties who have each agreed to conduct transactions electronically, judged from context and conduct (UETA section 5(b)). A party may refuse to conduct other transactions electronically (UETA section 5(c)), so agreement to one e-signed deal does not bind them to the next.
• Attribution. A signature is attributable to a person if it was their act, which may be shown in any manner, including by the efficacy of a security procedure used to determine who signed (UETA section 9(a)). Records of how the signer received and opened the document are part of that showing.
• Admissibility. Evidence of a record or signature may not be excluded solely because it is electronic (UETA section 13).
• Integrity over time. The retention rules in 15 U.S.C. § 7001(d)(1) and UETA section 12 depend on the record accurately reflecting its information and staying accessible. Keep the final, completed version.

Levels of signature

The provisions covered here do not create tiers of electronic signature. ESIGN uses a single definition (15 U.S.C. § 7006(5)), and UETA treats any electronic signature as satisfying a signature requirement (UETA section 7). The difference between a weak and a strong e-signature in the US is the quality of the evidence of intent and attribution, not a legal category.

Documents excluded or needing extra formalities

Where a record is excluded, the general e-signature rule does not apply to it, and the law that governs that record decides what form it needs.

UETA section 3(b) lets states add exclusions, but under 15 U.S.C. § 7002(a)(1) scope exceptions that conflict with ESIGN are preempted. How a particular state exclusion interacts with ESIGN can need a closer look.

Practical checklist for your business

1. Check the record against the exclusions. Before sending, confirm it is not a will, family law record, excluded UCC record, court document or one of the notices listed in 15 U.S.C. § 7003, and check your state's own UETA exclusions (UETA section 3(b)).
2. Get agreement to sign electronically. Make it clear in the request that you are asking the other party to sign electronically, so their agreement is evident from context and conduct (UETA section 5(b)). Offer a paper route if someone declines (UETA section 5(c)).
3. Run the consumer consent steps where they apply. If a law requires you to give a consumer information in writing, give the disclosures and capture affirmative electronic consent first (15 U.S.C. § 7001(c)(1)).
4. Make the act of signing deliberate. Use a signing step the signer clearly performs, so intent to sign is visible (15 U.S.C. § 7006(5)).
5. Identify each signer. Send to a contact you know belongs to the person and record how they accessed the document, so you can show the signature was their act (UETA section 9(a)).
6. Keep the audit trail with the document. Store the record of views and signatures alongside the signed file; electronic evidence cannot be excluded just for being electronic (UETA section 13), but you still need it to prove what happened.
7. Keep the final record accessible. Store the completed version, unaltered, for the required period, where everyone entitled to it can get it and reproduce it (15 U.S.C. § 7001(d)(1); UETA section 12).