Are Electronic Signatures Valid in Texas?

Which law applies in Texas

§ 322.007 states that a record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form, and that an electronic signature satisfies any law that requires a signature. § 322.009 attributes the signature to the person who made it, which may be shown "in any manner." The federal ESIGN Act also applies to transactions in interstate commerce.

«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.»

Texas Business & Commerce Code § 322.007(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, registration forms and receipts. For all of them, Texas law says an electronic signature satisfies any legal signature requirement.

What is excluded in Texas

§ 322.003 excludes transactions governed by laws on wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, and by the UCC other than sections 1.107 and 1.206 and Chapters 2 and 2A (sales and leases of goods). Subsection (e) also leaves out documents produced by a court reporter or shorthand reporting firm for use in the judicial system, and documents governed by rules adopted by the Supreme Court of Texas, including its electronic filing rules.

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 Texas

Texas has allowed online notarization since July 1, 2018 (Government Code § 406.101 et seq.): a notarial act performed "by means of two-way video and audio conference technology" with an online notary commissioned by the Secretary of State, identity verification and a recording of the session. You only need it when the document requires a notary: deeds, powers of attorney, affidavits.

Texas courts and the name on an email

Texas has some of the most-cited cases on "minimal" signatures. In Khoury v. Tomlinson, 518 S.W.3d 568 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2017), the court held that the name in the "From:" field of an email saying "we are in agreement" met the UETA definition of a signature. In Williamson v. Bank of New York Mellon, 947 F. Supp. 2d 704 (N.D. Tex. 2013), a name typed at the bottom of an email was enough. By contrast, in Cunningham v. Zurich American Insurance Co., 352 S.W.3d 519 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2011), a signature block generated automatically by the email program was not enough, because nothing showed an intent to sign. The difference is always intent, and being able to prove it.

How to prove who signed

Texas law attributes a signature to a person "if it was the act of the person," and allows that to be shown "in any manner," including the efficacy of the security procedure. In practice that means an audit trail: which email address or phone number the personal link was sent to, the IP address and browser it was opened from, the date and time of each step, and the SHA-256 hash of the document. That is what courts have demanded when an electronic signature was disputed, and it is what every document signed with MultiDocs carries. 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.