Legal

Federal and state laws have established the legality of eSignatures.

 The two most important pieces of legislation are the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA) and the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN).  These two acts make electronic records and electronic signatures as valid and enforceable as paper documents and ink signatures.

The Encomia electronic signature (eSign solution) and electronic record storage (eVault solution) solutions have been extensively reviewed by a top legal firm in the financial services industry.  In addition, our technology solutions have passed the compliance needs of production environments at a number of companies conducting business on a nationwide basis.  Encomia participated in the drafting of standards support for XML loan documents through the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO).

Our eSign solution not only enables the presentation, signing and storage of electronic documents but captures and stores a record of the presentation, its review, the legal consent to engage in business electronically and the signing processes with dates and times making it easy to demonstrate compliance.

The authenticity and integrity of electronic records is ensured through PKI (public key cryptography) security and tamper-evident seals.  The technology enables secure electronic execution and long-term administration of transferable records. The identity of the signatory and the integrity of the asset and enable the secondary market sale of assets.  In addition, the XML format makes the data in the documents easily auditable and transparent to groups such as rating agencies.

Other functionality that reinforces the legality of contracts and other records signed using Encomia’s eSign solution are:
  • Signatory authentication through an email with access code, and/or 3rd party ‘out-of-wallet’ ID validation.
  • Unique signatures created by each user and stored securely online.
  • Secure encryption so documents can be read and signed only by designated users.
  • Time-Stamping of every step in the document process including delivery, presentation, viewing, and signing of the documents.  This complete history forms an audit trail of signatory actions.
Links
  • MERS has information about eMortgages and their legality and enforceability.
  • ESRA is the website for the Electronic Signatures and Records Association’s resource center and it has several documents including:
    • “Electronic Signatures and Records Under ESIGN, UETA and SPeRS,” a summary by attorneys Buckley, Kolar.
    • The full E-SIGN and UETA legislation.
  • SPeRS - Standards and Procedures for Electronic Records and Signatures  is a cross industry initiative that has developed strategies for the use of electronic signatures and records and have been adopted by the mortgage, the variable annuity and automobile finance industry.
  • The National Notary Association website has information on eNotarization.
  • ALTA is the American Land and Title Association website and carries information about eSignatures and property records

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