ESIGN Act and UETA Compliance Overview

Last Updated: Jul 31, 20262 min read

In the United States, two laws make electronic signatures the legal equal of ink: the federal ESIGN Act (2000) and UETA, its state-level counterpart adopted by most states. Here's what they require and how Inkfree satisfies each requirement automatically.

What the Laws Require

1. Intent to sign: the signer must take a deliberate action indicating agreement.

2. Consent to do business electronically: parties must agree to use electronic records.

3. A record of the process: how the signature was captured must be documented.

4. Retention: signed documents must be stored and reproducible for all parties.

• Intent: signing is a multi-step deliberate act, open, review, click Start signing, apply your mark, click Finish. Nobody signs by accident.

• Consent: consent language is presented and the signer's acceptance is recorded with a timestamp.

• Process record: the audit trail captures every step, delivery, views, verification, signature, with IP addresses and timestamps.

• Retention: completed documents are stored in your account, sealed against tampering, and automatically emailed to every party.

When you send through Inkfre e, ESIGN and UETA compliance isn't something you configure, it's how the platform works by default.

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