Are electronic signatures legal in the United States?

The legal framework

Electronic signatures in the United States are governed by two pieces of legislation that work together:

ESIGN Act (federal, 2000)

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act was signed into federal law on 30 June 2000. It establishes that:

• A signature may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form
• A contract may not be denied legal effect solely because an electronic signature was used in its formation
• Electronic records satisfy any law requiring records to be in writing

The ESIGN Act applies nationwide and preempts any state law that would deny legal effect to electronic signatures, except where states have adopted UETA.

UETA (state-level, 1999)

The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act was drafted by the Uniform Law Commission in 1999 and has been adopted by 49 states, the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands. New York has its own equivalent, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA).

UETA provides the same core protections as the ESIGN Act at the state level. In states that have adopted UETA, the federal ESIGN Act defers to the state law.

Requirements for a valid electronic signature

Under both ESIGN and UETA, an electronic signature is valid if it meets four requirements:

1. Intent to sign — the signer must intend to sign the document. A deliberate action like clicking a button or drawing a signature satisfies this.

2. Consent to do business electronically — all parties must agree to conduct the transaction electronically. This is typically satisfied by the signer acknowledging a consent statement.

3. Association of signature with the record — the signature must be connected to the specific document being signed. The signing platform must link the signature to the document.

4. Record retention — the signed document must be accessible and reproducible by all parties. A completed PDF sent to all signers satisfies this.

Quill satisfies all four requirements through its signing flow: signers must check a consent box before fields activate, each signature is placed on a specific field on a specific document, and the completed PDF is emailed to all parties.

What can be signed electronically

Under US law, the vast majority of commercial documents can be signed electronically, including:

• Employment contracts and offer letters
• NDAs and confidentiality agreements
• Service and consulting agreements
• Freelance contracts
• Licence agreements
• Lease agreements (in most states)
• Purchase orders and supply contracts
• Corporate resolutions
• Partnership agreements

What cannot be signed electronically

Both ESIGN and UETA exclude certain categories of documents:

• Wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts
• Family law — adoption, divorce, and other family law matters
• Court orders and notices
• UCC transactions — certain Uniform Commercial Code documents (varies by state)
• Utility service cancellation notices
• Default, acceleration, and foreclosure notices for primary residences
• Health insurance termination notices

These exclusions do not affect the typical commercial documents that Quill is designed for. For UK-specific legal guidance, see are electronic signatures legally binding in the UK.

How Quill satisfies US e-signature law

Every document signed through Quill includes:

• Intent — signers must acknowledge a consent statement and actively click “Sign document”
• Consent — a checkbox requiring explicit consent before signature fields activate
• Association — each signature is linked to a specific field on a specific page of the document
• Retention — the completed PDF is emailed to all parties and retained for 6 years
• Audit trail — signer names, email addresses, timestamps, pseudonymised IP addresses, and consent records
• Tamper evidence — a SHA-256 hash of the completed document

Comparison with handwritten signatures

For commercial contracts, there is no legal distinction between an electronic signature and a handwritten signature under US law. The ESIGN Act explicitly states that electronic signatures carry the same legal weight.

The practical advantages of electronic signatures are significant: faster execution, automatic audit trails, tamper evidence, and no dependence on physical proximity or postal services. For more detail, see our comparison of electronic and handwritten signatures.

State-specific notes

While the core framework is consistent across the US, some states have additional requirements or nuances:

• New York uses ESRA instead of UETA, but the practical effect is the same
• Illinois has the Electronic Commerce Security Act with additional provisions for state government transactions
• California has both UETA and its own Uniform Electronic Transactions Act with minor variations

For standard commercial contracts between private parties, these variations do not affect the validity of signatures made through Quill. Every document costs £1.99 to send.