Legal Compliance in the U.S. and E.U.
Legal Compliance - U.S. ESIGN Act and European Directives
The U.S. ESIGN Act, as well as the European Community Framework for Electronic Signature Directive 1999/93/EC, allows you to legally sign most any business document, form or application online. We also implemented XAdES-BES to comply with the EU technical specification ETSI TS 101 903 v1.4.1 XML Advanced Electronic Signatures. Yozons does not, nor intends to, implement the antiquated PKI-based eIDAS requirements of the EU's "designed-by-committee-standard" Advanced Electronic Signature that went into effect on July 2016.
To comply with ESIGN provisions, you must do the following:
- Provide consumer disclosures regarding the legality of electronic signatures, hardware and software requirements,
signing alternatives, and if any fees apply
(Read the FTC Consumer Consent Provision)
- Authenticate the party to match your business risk tolerance and needs
- Present the completed document for review (the user may also enter data on the form before reviewing)
- Have the party take willful action to indicate their desire to sign the document
- Ensure that the agreed upon document has not been changed once signed
- Provide all parties an independent, legal original for their own records
Yozons offers all if its patented products as a hosted solution (SaaS) or licensed to run on your computer in your data center or office (on-premise), or managed for you (SaaS) using Amazon Web Services (AWS) secure data centers located throughout the country. AWS complies with SOC 1/ISAE 3402, SOC 2, SOC 3; FISMA, DIACAP, and FedRAMP; PCI DSS Level 1; and ISO 9001, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018.
Not every document can be legally signed electronically
Please note that electronic signatures are not legal for the exceptions specified in the E-Sign Act Section 103, though none of these apply to business contracts:
- (a)(1) a statute, regulation, or other rule of law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils, or testamentary trusts;
- (a)(2) a State statute, regulation, or other rule of law governing adoption, divorce, or other matters of family law;
- (a)(3) the Uniform Commercial Code, as in effect in any State, other than sections 1-107 and 1-206 and Articles 2 and 2A.
- (b)(1) court orders or notices, or official court documents (including briefs, pleadings, and other writings) required to be executed in connection with court proceedings;
- (b)(2)(A) notice of cancellation or termination of utility services (including water, heat and power);
- (b)(2)(B) notice of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure, or eviction, or the right to cure, under a credit agreement secured by, or a rental agreement for, a primary residence of an individual;
- (b)(2)(C) notice of the cancellation or termination of health insurance or benefits or life insurance benefits (excluding annuities);
- (b)(2)(D) notice of recall of a product, or material failure of a product, that risks endangering health or safety;
- (b)(3) any document required to accompany any transportation or handling of hazardous materials, pesticides, or other toxic or dangerous materials.
Please contact us for any questions regarding the legality of electronic signatures in the United States. Of course, Yozons cannot provide legal advice and you should contact your own counsel for questions related to your specific needs or regulatory compliance.