This page is a plain-English overview, not legal advice. Specific compliance requirements depend on your industry, jurisdiction, and document type. Have your legal counsel review before relying on electronic signatures for any specific transaction.
Where FusionDocs signatures hold up.
Electronic signature law is what makes a signed document binding — not a marketing certification. ESIGN, UETA, eIDAS, and the rest, in plain English.
Electronic signature law, in plain English.
United States — ESIGN Act + UETA
The federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (ESIGN, 2000) and the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA, adopted by 49 states + DC + the U.S. Virgin Islands) give electronic signatures the same legal weight as ink signatures, provided four conditions are met:
- Intent to sign — the signer takes an affirmative action (click, draw, type) to sign.
- Consent to do business electronically — the signer agrees to use e-signature.
- Association of signature to record — the signature is attached to and inseparable from the document.
- Record retention — the document and its evidence can be reproduced.
FusionDocs meets all four. The audit trail captures intent, consent, and the cryptographic seal binds the signature to the document.
New York didn't adopt UETA but has its own equivalent: the Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA, 1999). FusionDocs signatures are equivalently covered.
European Union — eIDAS
Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (eIDAS) defines three levels of electronic signature:
- Simple Electronic Signature (SES) — basic signing, equivalent to drawing on a screen. FusionDocs supports this by default.
- Advanced Electronic Signature (AdES) — uniquely linked to the signer, identifies the signer, under their sole control, with tamper-evident protection. FusionDocs meets the AdES criteria via the audit certificate.
- Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) — equivalent to a handwritten signature under EU law, requires a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP). Not currently offered.
United Kingdom — Electronic Communications Act 2000
The UK kept eIDAS-equivalent rules after Brexit. Electronic signatures are admissible under section 7 of the ECA 2000.
Other major jurisdictions
Electronic signature law applies in most modern jurisdictions, including:
- Canada — federal PIPEDA, plus provincial electronic-commerce acts (Quebec has stricter requirements for some employment and consumer documents — consult counsel)
- Australia — Electronic Transactions Act 1999
- Brazil — Lei 14.063/2020
- India — Information Technology Act 2000
- Singapore — Electronic Transactions Act
- Japan — Act on Electronic Signatures and Certification Business
Don't rely on this list as legal advice for your specific transaction. Confirm with local counsel.
What e-signature law doesn't cover.
Some documents are statutorily excluded from electronic signature laws in most jurisdictions. Don't use FusionDocs for these without confirming with your lawyer:
- Wills, codicils, and testamentary trusts
- Adoption, divorce, and other family law matters
- Court orders, briefs, and pleadings (varies by court)
- Some real estate documents in some states (notarization required)
- Negotiable instruments under UCC Article 3 (in some U.S. states)
- Certain notices of cancellation (health insurance, utilities, in some states)
- Some product recall notices
Documents requiring notarization
Remote Online Notarization (RON) is recognized in most U.S. states but with carve-outs. FusionDocs does not currently provide RON — for notarized documents you'll need a separate notarization service.
The audit certificate is the evidence.
The legal weight of an electronic signature isn't in the visible “X” on the document. It's in the evidence around how that signature got there. Every signed FusionDocs document includes:
- Signer identity — name, email
- Full event timeline — created, sent, viewed, signed, completed, downloaded; each with UTC timestamp
- IP address and user-agent for each event
- Decline-with-reason captured when applicable
This timeline is bundled into a downloadable, court-ready PDF attached to every completed document. It's the document a court asks for when a signature is questioned.
Compliance frameworks on the roadmap.
These frameworks are commonly asked for. They are not currently in place. Don't assume they apply to your FusionDocs account today:
- SOC 2 Type II (audit not yet completed)
- ISO 27001 certification
- HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA) — until we sign a BAA, do not put protected health information (PHI) in FusionDocs documents
- FDA 21 CFR Part 11 — life sciences electronic records / signatures
- FERPA — U.S. education records
- GLBA — U.S. financial services
- FedRAMP — U.S. federal cloud authorization
If you need one of these for procurement, contact us — we'll be honest about timing.
Data protection.
FusionDocs processes personal data when you upload documents that contain it. Our approach:
- Lawful basis: contract performance (we process to provide the service you paid for) and legitimate interest (for security and fraud prevention).
- Data subject rights: data subjects can request access, correction, or deletion. Contact privacy@fusiondocs.com and we'll route the request.
- Cross-border transfers: handled via Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) where applicable.
- Data Processing Agreement (DPA): available on request — email privacy@fusiondocs.com.
For the full GDPR write-up, see /gdpr.
What you can request, today.
- Privacy policy — /privacy
- Terms of service — /terms
- GDPR overview — /gdpr
- Data Processing Agreement (DPA) — by request to privacy@fusiondocs.com
- Subprocessor list — by request to security@fusiondocs.com
Most teams will only need the privacy policy and terms. Larger organizations and EU customers will additionally need the DPA.