Are Electronic Signatures Valid in California?

Which law applies in California

Civil Code § 1633.7 states that a record or signature cannot be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form, and that if a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law. § 1633.9 covers attribution: a signature belongs to a person “if it was the act of the person,” which can be shown “in any manner.” The federal ESIGN Act also applies to transactions in interstate commerce. California notaries still cannot notarize online (see below).

“A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form. […] If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law.”

California Civil Code § 1633.7(a) and (d) · Official source

Which documents you can sign electronically

Almost every private document: business-to-business contracts, proposals and quotes, offer letters and employment agreements, NDAs, leases, school permission slips, informed consent forms, sign-up sheets and receipts. For all of them, California law says an electronic signature satisfies any legal signature requirement.

What is excluded in California

Beyond the wills and UCC exclusions common to every UETA, Civil Code § 1633.3 carves out laws that require a specific text or notice to be separately signed or initialed, plus a long list of specific transactions: certain consumer and credit contracts, installment sales, vehicle contracts, mortgage and foreclosure transactions, disability and health insurance, utilities and vehicle records. And one key sentence for landlords: an electronic record cannot replace any notice that must be served under § 1162 of the Code of Civil Procedure, meaning eviction notices. For those documents, use paper and formal service.

The federal ESIGN Act (§ 7003) also does not cover family law, court documents, notices of utility shut-off, eviction or foreclosure on a primary residence, cancellation of life or health insurance, product recall notices and hazardous-materials documents. For these, check state law and any specific delivery rules.

Online notarization in California

California approved online notarization with SB 696 (Online Notarization Act, September 30, 2023), but it is not yet operational: it takes effect once the Secretary of State certifies the technology platform, with January 1, 2030 as the target date (which can be delayed). Until then, California notaries cannot perform remote notarizations, although the state recognizes those validly performed by notaries in other states. Private contracts do not need a notary at all: an electronic signature is enough.

What California courts require

California has a large body of rulings on disputed electronic signatures, most of them about arbitration agreements. In Ruiz v. Moss Bros. Auto Group, Inc., 232 Cal. App. 4th 836 (2014), an employer lost because it could not explain how the employee’s electronic signature was placed on the document or why it had to be his. In Fabian v. Renovate America, Inc., 42 Cal. App. 5th 1062 (2019), a home-improvement financing company lost for the same reason: a generic declaration was not enough. In Espejo v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group, 246 Cal. App. 4th 1047 (2016), the employer won because its declaration detailed the unique username and password, the date, the time and the IP address of the signature. The lesson is clear: keep the process, not just the PDF.

How to prove who signed

California law attributes a signature to a person “if it was the act of the person,” and lets you show that “in any manner,” including the efficacy of the security procedure used. In practice, that means an audit trail: which email address or phone number the personal link was sent to, which IP address and browser opened it, the date and time of every step, and the document’s SHA-256 hash. It is the kind of evidence courts have looked at when an electronic signature was disputed, and what comes with every document signed through MultiDocs. For the other states, see electronic signature laws by state.

This is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, ask a lawyer licensed in your state.