What is an electronic signature?

An electronic signature is an electronic sound, symbol, or process attached to or logically associated with a record, executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record. That wording comes from the U.S. federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7006) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, and it has been copied into most state and national statutes worldwide.

Every part of that definition is doing work. "Sound" means a recorded voice confirmation can be a signature. "Process" means a click-through can be. "Logically associated" means the signature does not have to be physically attached — it has to be linked to the record in a way you can demonstrate. And "intent to sign" is the part that most disputes actually turn on.

The four requirements in practice

1. Intent to sign

The signer must have meant to sign. Courts look at whether the surrounding steps made the significance clear: did the person authenticate, did they see the document, was the button labeled unambiguously, could they have exited the flow? A well-built flow makes intent obvious. A single ambiguous "OK" on a modal does not.

2. Consent to electronic record-keeping

The parties have to agree to transact electronically. In business-to-business transactions this can be implied by conduct — if both sides proceed electronically, that is normally consent. In consumer transactions the ESIGN Act imposes a firmer requirement: the consumer must receive a clear and conspicuous statement of the hardware and software needed to access and retain the records, and must consent electronically in a way that reasonably demonstrates they can access the information.

3. Association of the signature with the record

The signature must be attached to or logically associated with the document. In practice this means the signature is captured inside the same system that holds the document, with metadata tying the two together. This is one reason signing a PDF and emailing it back is weaker evidence than signing inside a purpose-built platform: the email route proves you received a file, not that you signed it.

4. Retention and reproducibility

An electronic record satisfies a legal retention requirement if it accurately reflects the information and remains accessible to everyone entitled to it, in a form that can be reproduced later. Practical translation: keep the signed PDF, and keep the audit trail that shows who did what and when.

Common misconceptions

What is excluded

The ESIGN Act itself does not apply to:

• Wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts
• Adoption, divorce, and other matters of family law
• Court orders and official court documents
• Notices of cancellation or termination of utility services
• Default, foreclosure, and eviction notices
• Notices of cancellation of health or life insurance benefits
• Product recall notices
• Certain documents accompanying the transportation of hazardous materials

Some of these carve-outs have narrowed over time. In particular, most states now allow remote online notarization, which covers many real estate and estate-planning documents that historically required wet ink. The precise position varies by state, so check the current rule in the relevant jurisdiction before assuming.

Where to go next

If you want to know whether a given signature will hold up, read are electronic signatures legally binding? If you are choosing a platform, start with the platform comparisons. If you need the statutory background, the ESIGN Act page is the place to begin.