The 7 Requirements For Electronic Signatures to be Legally Binding

In 2023 it has become commonplace to simply type your name into a web form to sign a document. You may have sometimes questioned whether there is such a legally binding electronic signature as a business owner.

Paper signatures are quickly being replaced by electronic signatures, also known as e-signatures or digital signatures, in online and paperless commercial operations.

Today, rules permitting the use of electronic signatures are present in the majority of nations.

What is an e-signature?

A digital contract must be signed on a computer or mobile device using an electronic signature.

On a touchscreen, a mouse, a finger, or a pen can use to electronically write out a typical signature.

Some situations only require you to type your name and confirm your approval. 

In several nations of the world, laws that have firmly established the legitimacy of electronic signatures have been in existence since 1999.

Electronic Signatures and The Law

Although the legal basis for e-signature bindingness varies from country to country, the requirements for its recognition are generally the same.

Different nations' laws control whether e-signatures are enforceable.

• United States: ESIGN (Federal) and UETA (State Law*)
• Canada: PIPEDA (Federal) and UECA (Provincial)
• European Union: eIDAS (Except in Switzerland)
• Australia: Electronic Transactions Act
• New Zealand: Electronic Transaction Act

Specific requirements must have been satisfied in accordance with all of these laws for an e-signature to be enforceable and protect signers. WeSignature rigorously complies with the aforementioned rules for electronic signatures.

Conditions needed to make electronic signatures enforceable

1. Intent To Sign

It is only allowed to sign an electronic document when every clause in the text is clearly transparent, and the signature is deliberate.

2. Consent to electronically sign, whether implicit or explicit

Every electronic platform for signing a document online should have a provision that the subscriber gives consent to sign the document electronically.

You can go a step further, by adding a checked contract box or a verification step after signing.

3. Signature Acknowledgment

You may be wondering how entering your name electronically on a document counts as a signature.

The requirement to keep a digital audit trail that links the signature with distinctive signifiers like a timestamp, email address, and IP address provides the solution.

You can trust that a signature will hold up in court thanks to WeSignature's comprehensive signature audit trail for every document signed.

4. Signature protection

Each signature has firmly affixed to the document and not kept apart. Documents that have been signed ought to kept in an encrypted setting and sent only to the people involved.

Thanks to WeSignaure electronic software, you can access WeSignature on any device, wherever you are, whenever you need it. We use multiple backups so there is no risk of losing your records.

5. Sending copies to the signer

A copy of the signed document, along with the client's signature, must have sent after signing. The signed paper is automatically sent by WeSignature to the client's specific email address.

6. Keeping of records

Signed copies of each document should kept so that they can copied as and when required.

All signed signatures are securely stored and our online management system makes it easy to retrieve specific documents.

7. The disclaimer

Last but not least, a client must always given the choice to sign a contract on paper rather than digitally.

Despite the fact that digital is now the standard, you should always have paper backups in case someone decides to follow this path.

Final Thoughts

Using the platform, you can create and save a variety of release and legal agreement templates that you can then email to clients or display on  any app. 

Our technology provides compliance from a legal and insurance company perspective, and has assisted hundreds of clients in resolving their electronic document signing demands.