Are electronic signatures legal in Colorado?

What the Colorado act covers

Colorado passed the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in 2002 (House Bill 02-1326). It's article 71.3 of Title 24 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, it took effect May 30, 2002, and it applies to electronic records and signatures created on or after that date (C.R.S. § 24-71.3-104).

The core rules are in § 24-71.3-107: a record, signature or contract can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic, and electronic records and signatures satisfy laws that require a writing or a signature.

The act only applies between parties who have each agreed to transact electronically, and that agreement can be inferred from context and conduct (§ 24-71.3-105(2)). Colorado's older electronic signature law agrees: using one is at the parties' option (§ 24-71-101(3)), and the UETA controls if the two conflict (§ 24-71.3-121).

Federal consumer rules apply in-state too

Section 7001(c) of the federal ESIGN Act covers information a law says you must give a consumer in writing. Before you deliver it electronically, the consumer must consent after a clear disclosure of their rights, including paper copies and withdrawing consent, in a way that shows they can open your format. Colorado applies those steps even when you and your customer are both in Colorado. The act also says it doesn't limit ESIGN's record-retention and accuracy rules or its exceptions (§ 24-71.3-103(6)(a)). Our guide to e-signature law explains both laws.

What the Colorado act excludes

• Wills, codicils and testamentary trusts (§ 24-71.3-103(2)(a)).
• The Uniform Commercial Code, except sales of goods (article 2), leases of goods (Colorado's article 2.5) and § 4-1-306 (§ 24-71.3-103(2)(b)).
• Court orders, notices and official court documents such as briefs and pleadings (§ 24-71.3-103(3)(a)).
• Notices of utility shutoff, and notices of default, foreclosure or eviction for an individual's primary residence (§ 24-71.3-103(3)(b)(I)–(II)).
• Notices canceling health or life insurance, and product recall notices (§ 24-71.3-103(3)(b)(III)–(IV)).
• Documents that must travel with hazardous materials, pesticides or other dangerous materials (§ 24-71.3-103(3)(c)).

One carve-back is unusual: foreclosure records can still go back and forth electronically between a lender or its attorney and a public trustee or sheriff, and those offices can store them electronically. Wills aren't left out entirely either. Colorado handles them under a separate law, the Colorado Uniform Electronic Wills Act (title 15, article 11, part 13).

Remote notarization in Colorado

Since December 31, 2020, a Colorado notary can notarize electronic records for a signer who appears by live audio and video (C.R.S. § 24-21-514.5). The notary must be physically in Colorado, must tell the Secretary of State which system they'll use, and can't notarize election records this way. See remote online notarization. SignMaster doesn't notarize documents.

Good practice for Colorado businesses

1. Collect consent before you send. For consumers, show the disclosure first and keep a record that they agreed.
2. Send the right notices the right way. Eviction, foreclosure and utility shutoff notices fall outside the act, so follow the statute that governs each one.
3. Keep an accurate final copy. An electronic record meets a retention rule if it accurately reflects the final document and stays accessible (§ 24-71.3-112).
4. Be able to show who signed. A signature is attributed to a person if it was their act, and that can be shown in any manner (§ 24-71.3-109).

Colorado's intrastate consent rule makes that record matter. SignMaster shows each signer a consumer disclosure and saves their agreement to sign electronically, with the disclosure version, before they sign. The completed PDF, which signers can download, closes with a certificate of completion of timestamped events.