Validate eSignature Document Online

I’m not a lawyer, so this isn’t legal advice, however due to diligent research I personally believe it is safe to say that yes, they are provided that the signer understand that they are signing the document and acknowledge that it is in fact them who is “signing” it. If the identity of the signer was in question, the document would need to be signNowd, which would not be able to be an electronic signature. It would be easy to assume that any electronic signature could therefore not be the person signing it. However, regular paper forms could also be signed by someone else other than the person who is supposed to be signing them, as well. It would have to be signNowd, which again, can only happen with regular paper, because the notary, when they signNow a document, they are identifying the signer as the person who is supposed to be signing it.But also, contracts do not have to be signNowd in order to be valid or enforceable, in which case, most documents signed online are practically contracts anyway.So basically, what I’m saying, is that although it seems that electronic signatures are not as legal or official, just remember that anything that can be done with a paper document can also be done with an electronic document (except be signNowd, it has to be paper, for that to happen).

Everyone knows that India is becoming digital and great initiatives have been taken by our PM. E-Signatures are legally valid in India, and businesses can use it without any doubt.Requirements for validityThe Information Technology Act, 2000 provides for the adoption of e signatures and acknowledges two forms of e-signs as having similar legal acceptance as pen-and-paper signatures. These forms specifically acknowledged under the IT Act include:E signatures which incorporate an Aadhaar ID with an electronic Know-Your-Customer (eKYC) method.Digital signatures which are created by an “asymmetric crypto-system and hash function”. For such signatures, the signer is usually issued a long-term certificate-based digital identity number, stored on a USB token, which is used to place a sign on a document.For the above forms of electronic signatures to be legitimate, they must satisfy these further conditions.The signatory of the e signature must be uniqueAt the point of signing, the signatory should be in control of the data employed to generate the e-sign.Any tamper with the signature, or the form to which the signature is placed, must be easily detectable.There must be an audit trail of procedures followed during the signing process.Signer certificates should only be granted by the signNowing Authority.If all these conditions are followed, then there is an obvious legal belief in favor of the legality of any document signed using e-signatures.However there are some documents which Indian law prohibits to be signed electronically. Here is the list of it.Any document listed by the government of India on the official gazettePower of attorneyTrust deedsA will and other forms of testamentary dispositionNegotiable documents such as bills of exchange, drafts, promissory notes and moreDocuments involving any sale of immovable property such as real estateTo learn more about technical and legal overview of electronic signatures in India, Read this article - Electronic Signatures India - Technical & Legal Overview | signNow

signNow embedded signing is a scenario where the host application and signNow service share authentication responsibility.  Additional forms of authentication like RSA knowledge base authentication, Phone authentication and others can be added for additional evidence that the signer is who they say they are.  If you think about it the access to the e-mail address is also a piece of evidence, in this case we are just allowing the host application to verify access to e-mail.  Next and very important point is that signNow certifies all of our API integrations and during that certification we ensure that the integrated apps adhere to code and compliance standards.  I am not sure if other companies do it, but it would be great if everyone made sure that these embedded scenarios always had a minimum bar of compliance.

[full disclosure: I’m VP Digital Transformation at Solutions Notarius Inc., a company that supplies electronic and digital signature solutions]Great question. I perceive the biggest challenges in relation to electronic and digital signatures to be:Not understanding the function of a signature and therefore what e-signatures are. In the physical world, people intuitively understand what a signature is in its manuscript form, whereas in the electronic world, e-signatures encompass a much wider range of possible forms, from email signature blocks to voice recordings to secured online session date (when you click « I accept ») to images of manuscript signatures to cryptographically protected digital signatures. A signature is a permanent mark that is unique, exclusively used and traceable to a person and affixed on static information with implied or expressed intention. Everything in the electronic world that fulfils that function is a signature.Not understanding that e-signatures are a means to an end / that end is legal reliability. Whenever you are applying a signature to something, especially documents, it is to create evidence of a transaction. The degree to which that evidence will possess the following four reliability attributes will affect the probative value of the evidence: identity (certainty of the identity of signers), integrity (certainty of no undetected changes to document / information signed), authenticity (all that is required to prove identity and longevity is embedded in the document itself) and longevity (document or information signed can be opened, read and authenticated for at least its retention period).Not understanding that there is no such thing as “universally legally valid e-signatures”. People often ask “are electronic signatures legal and are they recognized by courts”? Ascertaining the legality of a form of signature calls for a 4 step analysis, always. First, what is the applicable jurisdiction for a specific or category of information / documents? Some contracts for example include a forum conveniens clause which make applicable the laws of a specific jurisdiction. Second, in that jurisdiction, what are the form requirements for signing those documents? Form requirements may include signing before a Commissioner of oaths and some statutes even prescribe the use of paper (!) in some cases. Third, absent specific form requirements, what is the general default legal regime that governs e-signatures for that type of documents in that jurisdiction? Fourth, is the e-signature solution you plan to use / have used will meet statutory functional requirements? So, in conclusion and from the previous 4 step analysis, it should be clear there cannot possibly be any e-signature solution that is universally legally valid for all types of documents in all jurisdictions.Administrative Adoption. When UNCITRAL e-commerce model laws where adopted worldwide in the period 1998–2008, it created a vexing situation where e-signatures were legal but not administratively adopted. Even if a statute proclaims as a general rule, for example, that “you cannot deprive of legal effect a document that is electronically signed solely on the basis that it is electronic”, administrations such as governments and banks, when they insist on receiving and processing paper documents, are maintaining a barrier to the adoption of e-signatures that e-commerce statutes were supposed to help take down.Not understanding that e-signatures are not all equal when assessing reliability. To assess the reliability of a particular e-signature, one has to assess identity (is the identity of signers reliable? why?), integrity (are changes to the document correctly invaluable dating associated e-signatures? can the original document signed be retrieved notwithstanding changes?), authenticity (is all necessary information to prove identity and integrity embedded in the document - in which case the document is a proof; or not - in which case it is merely a commencement of proof) and longevity (is the document signed and preserved in a logical format - for example ISO 19005 PDF/A with PAdES LTV signatures) - that will ensure it remains readable and verifiable for as long as required?). The word of e-signatures, when it comes to understanding the range of reliability offered - or lack thereof! - is severally lacking in its general knowledge of what makes an e-signature reliable. For example, an signNow Self-Sign certificate that is auto-generated by a user is great for integrity but worthless for identity because the user can declare whatever identity they choose in the certificate.There are other problems and challenges of course but the above are top of mind challenges I see and encounter all the time.

Online signature software such as EchoSign or signNow use electronic signatures, also known as digital signatures.Most countries now have legislation that provide for the use of electronic signatures.However, these countries may have slightly different requirements for what constitutes a legally binding electronic signature.The United Nations has attempted to provide some unifying features through the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures 2001 but this model law has only been adopted in 32 states including the UK, China, Mexico and India.In the UK, the Electronic Communications Act 2000 was enacted to comply with the UNCITRAL Model Law but it has now been replaced by Europe’s Electronic Identification and Authentication Services Regulation (910/2014/EC)(eIDAS) which came into force on July 1 2016.This new law applies to all EU member states, but since BREXIT, it is uncertain whether the UK will continue with eIDAS.The eIDAS states that only "qualified electronic signatures" will be mutually accepted by all the EU member states. A qualified electronic signature must be uniquely linked to the signer and based on a qualified electronic certificate that is issued by an approved authority.In the USA, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN, 2000) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA, 1999) give similar recognition to online signatures as paper signatures.Under these two acts, 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.Briefly, the following requirements must be met for an electronic signature to be valid:The signer intended to sign, consented to the use of electronic records for the transaction and did not withdraw his or her consent.The electronic transaction system must keep a record of how the signature was created or make a textual or graphic statement that must be attached to the agreement.The signer must have received a copy of the UETA consumer consent disclosures.The electronic signature records must be capable of being retained and accurately reproduced later by all parties. In other words, all parties must be allowed to reprint the agreement and the signatures if they want to.In Canada, electronic signatures are governed by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA, 2000). A secure electronic signature must be:Unique to the person signing.The person signing has sole control over the signing process and his or her identify can be verified.The electronic signature is linked to an electronic document in a way that any attempt to change the document can be determined.In general, there's a lot of similarity in requirements governing electronic signatures, mainly because this is necessary to promote the growth of international e-commerce and trading.However, to avoid uncertainty, you should always state in your agreement which country’s law applies to the agreement. If there was going to be a dispute later on, you then know which country’s law will apply to the agreement and what the likely result will be.Also, even though you sign an agreement online using these software, ensure that you print a copy of the agreement and the signatures and keep these paper copies for your own records.For more info, you can check out our article on 4 tools to sign NDA agreements electronically.Credits: Icon "edit" by Chameleon Design from the Noun Project.

Many people think that electronic signatures are the same as digital signatures but that is not the case. In fact, digital signatures are a highly secured way to implement electronic signatures.Digital signatures use a public and private key generation framework, signature algorithm and a verification algorithm to match public and private keys and validate the authenticity of electronic signatures.Ever since the passing of the E-Sign Act in 2000, electronic signatures have acquired as much weight as the traditional wet or ink signature. As a result, electronic signatures have become widely used to conduct business online. This term is quite broad however, and not all electronic signatures constitute as digital signatures, which are guaranteed to fulfill the requirements decreed by the E-Sign Act. These terms include:– The customer’s intent to sign, as well as the consent to sign electronically– The software’s ability to maintain document integrity through unique identifiers– The company’s responsibility to retain all documents for legal purposesWhat does it mean? In a nutshell, every document requiring a digital signature has, in effect, a unique key attached to it. This is done using a public key infrastructure (PKI). Public key is generated & attested by the operator of the PKI called a Certificate Authority, and is held by the document owner, who can then pass on copies to his or her clients. Once the client signs, a unique key (private key) message becomes embedded inside the document. If anyone tries to tamper with the document, the software algorithm will detect it and invalidate the document.Due to increased identity theft in recent years, it has become ever more important for documents to be signed under a watchful eye, whether that be through digital or in-person witnesses. Companies that value your security will enact several layers of protection to ensure that every document is using digital signatures and is legally secure. At signNow, we use industry-standard encryption, time stamps, in-document visibility control, and e-mail authentication to discourage electronic forgery. signNow complies with the E-Sign Act, as well as UETA, HIPAA, and more.

In a word: Yep!Thanks to the E-SIGN Act, documents signed electronically have the same legal protections as those signed with a physical pen! As long as your eSignature solution is committed to strong legality and your NDA is drafted by a professional, you absolutely can trust NDAs that are created, signed, and stored online.There are a few options out there. The rest of these examples are using signNow’s service. You can even create one now with a free signNow account.Here’s how to set up the NDA:Step 1: Acquire an NDA TemplateYou can find NDA templates online, but I would recommend seeking out a legal professional to create one that’s right for your needs.Step 2. Upload the Template, Add SignersAfter signing in to your signNow account, you’ll see the "Who needs to sign?" menu. For a confidentiality agreement, you’ll probably want to choose between “Me & others” or “Just others.” After selecting one, you’ll be able to drag and drop, choose “Add File,” or use any of our integrations to upload your non-disclosure agreement.Now you can add signers, loop in other parties via our CC feature, and assign a signer order if needed. Select “Prepare doc for signing” to move on to the really cool part!Step 3. Format the NDA and Fill in Your InformationWith the NDA you imported pulled up in front of you, click any of the fields across the top of the page and drag it to where you want to place it in the document. Most of the fields have advanced features and some even let you add a validation type (email address, numbers only, etc.) to help guide signers and reduce errors. Take some time to click around to get your NDA dialed in.Once you get your formatting just right, hit Continue at the top of the page. Back on the “Get your document signed” page, you’ll add a title, an optional message, and send your online NDA out for signatures!Step 4. Sign Your NDA Online (Legally and Securely!)If you’re one of the signers, a prompt to sign the non-disclosure agreement will hit your (and other signers’) email inbox as soon as you send it out for signatures. Just click the “Review & Sign” button in the email to continue.We provide a variety of ways to create your electronic signature:Draw your signature on a touch screen using your finger or a stylusUpload a photo of your signatureType in your signature and customize from a selection of fontTake a picture of your signature using your smartphone’s camerasignNow will automatically prompt each signer to complete all their required fields. Once you’ve filled out your portion of the NDA, all you have to do is agree to one last legality measure and your job is done!Step 5. Access Your Online NDA Any TimeTo check the status, edit, or even download a hard copy of your confidentiality agreement; just visit the Documents section of your signNow dashboard any time.