Electronic signature

Any electronic data attached to a record and used by a signer with intent to sign it.

An electronic signature is data in electronic form, attached to or logically associated with a record, that a person uses with the intent to sign it. A typed name, a drawn mark, a click on a button — all can qualify.

It is defined by intent and association, not by technology. That is deliberate: the US and EU frameworks avoid mandating a mechanism so the law does not expire with the technology.

Because the definition is broad, what makes a particular signature defensible is rarely the signature itself. It is the surrounding record: that the invitation went to one named person, that the link identified only them, how they were authenticated, what they were shown before they acted, and whether the finished document can be shown to be unchanged since.

Not to be confused with a digital signature, which is a specific cryptographic construction and only one of the ways an electronic signature can be implemented.

Last reviewed 2026-09-18. Pactlyra produces a detailed evidence record for every completed document. Electronic signature validity depends on your jurisdiction, the document type, and how the transaction is carried out; nothing here is legal advice.