Are electronic signatures legal in Tennessee?

The core of Tennessee's act

The General Assembly passed the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act as Public Chapter 72 of 2001 (Senate Bill 376), signed April 11, 2001. It's codified in Title 47, Chapter 10 of the Tennessee Code. Section 47-10-107 holds the basic rules: a record, signature or contract can't be denied legal effect just because it's electronic, an electronic record satisfies a writing requirement, and an electronic signature satisfies a signature requirement. Electronic evidence can't be kept out of court for that reason alone (§ 47-10-113).

The act applies only between parties who have each agreed to transact electronically, judged from context and conduct. Agreeing once doesn't bind anyone to the next deal, and that right to refuse can't be waived (§ 47-10-105).

Where ESIGN still governs

Section 47-10-122 says the chapter is meant to supersede section 101 of the federal ESIGN Act to the fullest extent ESIGN allows, with one deliberate carve-back. Tennessee's act can't be read to limit ESIGN's consumer consent and record rules in sections 101(c) through (e), or to authorize electronic delivery of the notices listed in ESIGN section 103(b) (15 U.S.C. § 7003).

In practice, that means two things for Tennessee businesses:

• Consumer notices need ESIGN consent. When a law requires you to give a consumer information in writing, get their consent the way ESIGN describes before delivering it electronically (15 U.S.C. § 7001(c)).
• Some notices stay off e-delivery. Tennessee's act doesn't authorize electronic delivery of court orders and court documents, notices of utility shutoff, of default, foreclosure or eviction on a primary residence, of health or life insurance cancellation, of dangerous product recalls, or hazardous-materials papers.

Our plain-English guide covers how ESIGN and state law fit together.

What the act excludes

• Wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, to the extent their own laws govern (§ 47-10-103(b)(1)).
• Chapters 1 through 9 of Title 47, Tennessee's Uniform Commercial Code, except sales (chapter 2), leases (chapter 2A) and two general sections (§ 47-10-103(b)(2)).
• The ESIGN section 103(b) notices described above (§ 47-10-122(b)).

Blockchain signatures and smart contracts

Part 2 of the chapter covers distributed ledger technology. A cryptographic signature generated and stored through it counts as an electronic signature, and a record secured through it counts as an electronic record. A contract can't be denied legal effect solely because it's executed through a smart contract (§ 47-10-202).

Online notaries

Tennessee's Online Notary Public Act (Tenn. Code § 8-16-301 and following, enacted in 2018) lets an online notary public notarize for a signer who appears by interactive two-way audio and video, under the secretary of state's rules (§ 8-16-302). See remote online notarization. SignMaster doesn't notarize documents.

Practical notes

• Settle agreement early. A clause saying both sides agree to sign electronically supports § 47-10-105.
• Keep an accurate, accessible final copy. That's what satisfies a retention requirement (§ 47-10-112).
• Working with a county or city? Local officials must file a statement with the state comptroller before offering an electronic signature system (§ 47-10-119), so they may have their own process.

For the records side, SignMaster logs every signer's agreement to sign electronically, with the disclosure version they saw, before anyone signs. Once the last signature is in, the PDF gets a certificate of completion recording each event with its time, and signers can download the finished file.