This document is to help summarize and answer any legality concerns regarding the validity of an e-signature. Below are helpful links to multiple support atricles provided by OneSpan answering all legality concerns.

eSignature Legality in the United States

The United States has legally recognized e-signatures since 1999, when the first states adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). This was followed by the US Federal ESIGN law that passed in 2000.

In the United States, there are two acts designed to validate electronic signatures: ESIGN and UETA. Both acts define an electronic signature as “any 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 the record.”

• Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN) can be accessed here.

• There is a uniform state law, the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), which can be accessed here. UETA governs electronic signatures at the state level and is in effect with slight variations in 49 states. New York has an electronic signature act similar in most respects to UETA.

The key requirements for an electronic signature to be recognized as valid under U.S. law include:

• Intent to sign: As with handwritten signatures, electronic signatures are valid only if each party intended to sign.

• Consent to do business electronically: The parties to the transaction must consent to do business electronically.

• Association of signature with the record: In order to qualify as an e-signature under ESIGN and UETA, the system used to capture the transaction must keep an associated record.

• Record retention: U.S. laws on e-signatures require that electronic signature records be capable of retention and accurate reproduction for reference by all parties or persons entitled to retain the contract or record.

For more detailed information. Please click HERE

eSignature Legality Guide

OneSpan's Perspective

The information provided in this section is prepared by OneSpan. It summarizes best practices for legal compliance when implementing e-signatures and explains how OneSpan Sign is designed to meet the e-signature requirements in countries that have enacted electronic signature laws. 

OneSpan has been actively engaged with a number of governing bodies to help to advance e-signature adoption around the world. OneSpan also participates in outreach activities, including workshops and conferences, to help organizations that are adapting to global e-signature laws and regulations, such as the eSign Act, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), eIDAS, and other regulatory legislation.

E-Signature Compliance

The ability to execute binding agreements online has compelling benefits to your business processes, including an improved customer experience, a stronger legal and compliance position, increased staff productivity, and greater operational efficiency than with paper documents. Though e‑signatures are proven to be superior to ink signatures in a multitude of ways, questions still arise regarding compliant electronic signatures.

There generally are three forms of e-signature recognized around the world: Simple, Advanced, and Qualified.

Electronically signed documents include details such as the signer’s digital certificate (i.e., a local- or server-side signing certificate), timestamp, and the signer’s information (e.g., email address and IP address). While most e-signature solutions will apply a standard timestamp to indicate the date and time associated to the signing process, there may be scenarios (i.e., high risk, high value transactions) where organizations want to opt for a "qualified timestamp" – a timestamp generated by a trusted third-party for each signing event. 

OneSpan Sign supports timestamping by connecting to a qualified timestamp server – binding the e-signature data with a trusted timestamp to independently prove when a particular transaction took place. The resulting timestamp further strengthens the integrity of the electronic signature.

E-Signature audit trails are digital records that identify when a document was sent, opened, and signed, along with the names, email addresses, IP addresses, and unique signing identifiers of the signers. Audit trails have proven very effective in authenticating an electronic record to demonstrate that the e-signature is that of the signer.

Audit trails help answer questions such as:

• Did the signer pass the required identity verification and/or authentication steps?

• Was the signer presented with the required disclosures? 

• Did they sign in all the required locations on the document(s) to properly indicate intent?

• Were the proper procedures followed at every stage of the process?

OneSpan Sign offers a single audit trail of the entire agreement process that captures all the e-signature actions (i.e., what they signed, when, and where), as well as the identity verification and authentication events proving how the signer was identified. The audit trail is  embedded in the e-signed document and available in a detailed Evidence Summary Report. The Evidence Summary Report can be downloaded and viewed at any time. It is available to all transaction participants, both as an individual download or as part of the completed transaction. 

For more detailed information. Please click HERE

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