Definition
Electronic Signature
Any electronic mark that shows you agreed to something, from a typed name to a clicked "I agree" box.
In Depth
This is the broad umbrella term. It covers your typed name at the bottom of an email, a box you ticked, or a squiggle drawn with your finger on a screen. What actually makes it a signature is intent. If you meant the mark to stand as your agreement, the law generally treats it like a signature on paper.
Varies by region in its legal basis, though the practical meaning is similar. The US defines it through the ESIGN Act and UETA. The EU defines it in eIDAS Article 3(10). The UK relies on the Electronic Communications Act 2000 alongside its retained UK eIDAS. All three give electronic signatures legal standing, but the exact statutory wording differs.
Sources
- US: 15 U.S.C. § 7006(5), ESIGN Act (Cornell Law LII) - The term 'electronic signature' means an electronic sound, symbol, or process, attached to or logically associated with a contract or other record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record.
- EU: Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS), Art. 3(10), EUR-Lex - electronic signature' means data in electronic form which is attached to or logically associated with other data in electronic form and which is used by the signatory to sign.
- UK: Electronic Communications Act 2000, s. 7 (legislation.gov.uk) - In any legal proceedings an electronic signature incorporated into or logically associated with a particular electronic communication or particular electronic data ... shall each be admissible in evidence in relation to any question as to the authenticity ... or as to the integrity of the communication or data.