Is a typed name a legal signature?

The short answer

• The law accepts typed names. Both the federal ESIGN Act and the state UETA define an electronic signature broadly enough to include a typed name.
• Intent is the test. A typed name is a signature when the person adopted it to sign that record, and not when they were just identifying themselves.
• It's as valid as ink. Where a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies it. A drawn signature isn't legally stronger than a typed one.
• Evidence makes it hold up. A clear signing step, a record of who typed it and a copy of what they signed decide most disputes.

What the law says

The federal ESIGN Act defines an electronic signature as an electronic sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign it (15 U.S.C. § 7006(5)). UETA, adopted by every state except New York, uses nearly the same words in section 2(8), and its section 7(d) adds that if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law. Letters typed on a keyboard are a symbol, so a typed name fits the definition.

The drafters' comment makes the same point from the other side: it may also be shown that the intent wasn't there, in which case the symbol isn't a signature. Their example is a private key used only to unlock something, with no intention to sign. A typed name works the same way.

Intent is the whole test

Nobody can see intent directly, so it's inferred from context. These situations sit at different points on the scale:

What courts have said

Two appellate decisions, both about settlements agreed by email, show how much turns on the facts.

• J.B.B. Investment Partners, Ltd. v. Fair (Cal. Ct. App. 2014), 232 Cal.App.4th 974. A defendant replied to a settlement proposal by email, accepted it and typed his name at the end. The trial court enforced the deal. The Court of Appeal reversed: the record didn't show he typed his name with any intent to formalize an electronic transaction, or that the parties had agreed to transact electronically, so his printed name wasn't an enforceable electronic signature under California's UETA.
• Forcelli v. Gelco Corp. (N.Y. App. Div. 2013), 109 A.D.3d 244. An insurance claims adjuster emailed the terms of a settlement and ended with her typed name. New York's appellate court held that an email can be a subscribed writing under the state's settlement rule when the sender types their name intending it as a signature, found that intent there, and held the settlement enforceable.

Neither case says typed names are good or bad. Both decided whether this person meant to sign this message, under a specific settlement statute. A dispute over your contract would turn on its own facts and your state's law.

When a typed name isn't enough

• Documents outside the e-signature laws. ESIGN doesn't apply to wills, family law matters and certain notices, and states add their own exclusions. See are electronic signatures legal.
• Documents that need a notary or witnesses. A typed name can't replace a notarization, and witness rules come from the law that requires them. See notarization and witnesses.
• Forms with their own rules. Courts and agencies set signature rules for their own filings. See court documents and tax returns.
• When the other side said it wants a signed original. If both sides expected a formal signing, a typed name in the meantime may not count, which was part of the problem in J.B.B.

How to make a typed signature hold up

1. Make the signing step unmistakable. A labeled signature field and a button that states the person is signing leave little room to argue it was just a name.
2. Get agreement to sign electronically. UETA applies only between parties who agreed to transact electronically (section 5), so a consent checkbox before signing is worth having.
3. Tie the name to a person. UETA section 9 lets attribution be shown in any manner, including the security procedure used: a link sent to their own email, an access code, a record of the device and IP address.
4. Keep the exact record. Save the signed version in a form both sides can retrieve and reproduce later, with a log of when it was viewed and signed.

Typed signatures in SignMaster

Signers in SignMaster can draw, type or upload their signature, or take a photo of one. Whichever they choose, they first tick a box agreeing to use electronic records and signatures, and the signing dialog states that by selecting Adopt and sign they agree it's their electronic signature, as binding as one made with pen and paper. The certificate of completion then records each signer's email, IP address, browser and the times they viewed, consented and signed. If you just need a typed signature image for your own document, try the free signature maker.