Are electronic signatures legal in Washington State?

A late adopter

Washington passed its own Electronic Authentication Act in 1998, a digital signature law, which was repealed in 2019. The Legislature then adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act in 2020 through Senate Bill 6028 (Laws of 2020, chapter 57), at the Uniform Law Commission's request. The same bill repealed older statutes on government agencies' use of e-signatures and on records created with distributed ledger technology, and brought other statutes into line with UETA.

What chapter 1.80 RCW says

• A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it's electronic (RCW 1.80.060(1)).
• A contract may not be denied legal effect solely because an electronic record was used to form it (RCW 1.80.060(2)).
• An electronic record satisfies a writing requirement, and an electronic signature satisfies a signature requirement (RCW 1.80.060(3)–(4)).
• Evidence of a record or signature may not be excluded solely because it's electronic (RCW 1.80.120).

The chapter applies only between parties who have each agreed to transact electronically, read from context and conduct. Either side can still say no to doing the next deal electronically, a right that can't be waived (RCW 1.80.040).

What's excluded

• Laws governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils and testamentary trusts. The act does still apply to nonjudicial settlement agreements under RCW 11.96A.220 (RCW 1.80.020(2)(a)).
• Title 62A RCW, the Uniform Commercial Code, except RCW 62A.1-306 and the chapters on sales (62A.2) and leases (62A.2A) (RCW 1.80.020(2)(b)).
• Electronic delivery of the notices the federal ESIGN Act excludes, as explained below (RCW 1.80.190).

How it works with the federal ESIGN Act

RCW 1.80.190 says the chapter modifies, limits and supersedes the federal ESIGN Act, with two exceptions. It doesn't touch ESIGN's consumer consent rule (15 U.S.C. § 7001(c)), and it doesn't authorize electronic delivery of the notices in 15 U.S.C. § 7003(b): court orders and documents, utility shutoffs, default, foreclosure or eviction on a primary residence, health or life insurance cancellations, dangerous product recalls and hazardous-materials papers.

So when a law requires you to give a consumer information in writing, get ESIGN-style consent before delivering it electronically, and send those excluded notices the way the governing law says. Our plain-English guide explains the federal side.

Remote notarization in Washington

If a law requires notarization, an electronic notarization counts when the notary's electronic signature and required details are attached to the record (RCW 1.80.100). An electronic records notary public located in Washington can also notarize for a remotely located person over live audio and video, after verifying identity, for example with two types of identity proofing, and must make an audiovisual recording (RCW 42.45.280). A revised version of that section takes effect January 1, 2027. See remote online notarization. SignMaster doesn't notarize documents.

Practical notes

• Get clear agreement. A clause saying both sides agree to sign electronically helps prove agreement under RCW 1.80.040.
• Let people keep it. A record the recipient can't store or print isn't enforceable against them (RCW 1.80.070(3)).

RCW 1.80.080 lets you show who signed in any manner, including the security procedure used. A dated record helps: SignMaster adds a certificate of completion to each completed PDF, listing every event and when it happened, and signers can download it. Consent comes before the signature, logged with the disclosure version each signer saw.