Do electronic signatures hold up in court?

Yes electronic signatures on contracts hold up in the court of law. Yes they are equally enforceable and legal as the traditional paper contracts and documents. The E-Signature in Global and International Commerce Act (ESGICA) has made electronic signatures legal.

Are typed signatures valid?

No. There are a number of e-signature laws across the world, such as ESIGN and UETA, which define what constitute a legally binding esignature. ... Simply typing your name into a document cannot tie the signature to the document.

What constitutes a valid signature?

A mark or sign made by an individual on an instrument or document to signify knowledge, approval, acceptance, or obligation. The term signature is generally understood to mean the signing of a written document with one's own hand. ... Almost all states have passed laws that recognize the validity of \"digital signatures.\"

Is digital signature valid?

Simply put, yes, digital signatures are valid and enforceable. As long as certain requirements are met, they have the same legal effect as their written equivalents. Like a traditionally signed contract, one of the most important elements of validity is the signing party's intent to be bound.

Does a signature have to be your name?

No, you do not have to use your legal name as your signature. That is your choice. At the same time, your bank and your employer do not have to accept your \"custom\" signature if they do not want to.

Can an electronic signature be legally binding?

In simple terms, electronic signatures are legally recognized as a viable method to indicate agreement to a contract. For an electronic signature to be legally binding under the ESIGN Act, it is recommended that all electronic signature workflows include: Intent to sign.

Can a digital signature be legally binding Why or why not?

The E-Sign Act states that signatures should not be denied legal validity solely because they are electronic, which means that a contract that is signed electronically can be brought into trial. ... Certain criteria must be met in order for an e-signature to be admissible in court.

How do you make an electronic signature legally binding?

Establish that any law with a signature requirement can be satisfied by an electronic signature. Allow electronically executed agreements to be presented as evidence in court. Prevent denial of validity or enforceability of an electronically signed document solely because it is in an electronic form.

Is DocuSign a legal signature?

DocuSign and electronic signature law. Electronic documents and signatures are legally binding for nearly every business or personal transaction around the world. ... DocuSign's world-class security practices and anytime, intuitive user experience makes obtaining legally-binding electronic signatures easy and convenient.

What constitutes an electronic signature legally?

Legal definitions (5) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE- 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.

Functionality index

Create and edit PDF documents online

Drop document here to upload

Select from device

Up to 100 MB for PDF and up to 25 MB for DOC, DOCX, RTF, PPT, PPTX, JPEG, PNG, JFIF, XLS, XLSX or TXT

Based on 12500+ reviews

Last updated on Jan 16, 2026

Try these PDF tools

Edit PDF

Quickly edit and annotate PDFs online.

Start now

Sign

eSign documents from anywhere.

Start now

Request signatures

Send a document for eSignature.

Start now

Share

Instantly send PDFs for review and editing.

Start now

Find forms online

Browse the online library of forms.

Start now

Merge

Combine multiple PDFs into one.

Start now

Rearrange

Rearrange pages in a PDF document.

Start now

Collaborate

Exchange comments and edit PDFs collaboratively.

Start now

Compress

Compress PDFs to reduce their size.

Start now

Convert

Convert PDFs into Word, Excel, JPG, or PPT files and vice versa.

Start now

Create from scratch

Start with a blank page.

Start now

Edit DOC

Edit Word documents.

Start now

Document creation is just the beginning

Learn more about security

Create and edit documents with a trusted solution

Try easy-to-use tools for all your document management needs.

Upload your document

pdfFiller scores top ratings on review platforms

Thought it was too expensive and did not see the 70% discount for paying annually instead of monthly and do want that discount and as such a large partial refund of the $120 we were charged

Manel

I had to cancel my subscription right after I got it (the first time) because we were told not electronic signatures. The customer service person I was connected to was very quick with applying my refund and explained the banks general policies. It ended up there was a mistake, so I'm back. I enjoyed the ease of using the product. I was able to pretty much teach myself how to use it. I do look forward to seeing what the webinar has to offer.

Melissa

What do you like best?
Easy to use, anyone who I've sent a file has had no issues receiving and downloading. Some of them have told me they've gone on to use the product regularly themselves.
What do you dislike?
Nothing to do with pdffiller, but I sometimes forget to set up the files I'm uploading in the right folders. That's on me.
What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?
Under the 'documents' tab, the 2 columns on the right could be made more distinctly different from each other to denote they are in fact different. They are just two shades of gray and not that different in tone.

User in Retail

This is a very good pdf creator This is a very good pdf creator. Relatively straightforward to use. I just don't need this functionality right now, and the team was super helpful and fast in responding to my request. They're good people!

Alan McDermott

What do you like best? That the application makes editing documents that can be difficult to edit in certain formats simple. What do you dislike? I dislike that there are some formats that this application cannot edit. What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized? Solving the problem of editing time documents that get distorted in Google Docs or Microsoft. The benefit of being able to cut major time from editing projects by utilizing the many features.

Mia Lawrence

What do you like best? I like that I can fax documents without having to have an actual fax number What do you dislike? There isn’t much to dislike about PDFfiller. I like everything it has to offer. Recommendations to others considering the product: It’s easy to use What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized? N/A. I don’t have any problems.

User in Electrical/Electronic Manufacturing

Show more Show less

Watch pdfFiller eSignatures in action

Check out a quick video tutorial that shows how to create and place your signature or send a document for signing.

Related features

Create and edit documents with a trusted solution

Try easy-to-use tools for all your document management needs.

Upload your document