The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act
The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) is one of the several United States Uniform Acts proposed by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws to provide a legal framework for the use of electronic signatures and records in government or business transactions. UETA makes electronic records and signatures as legal as paper and manually signed signatures.
Approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1999, Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)
Washington, Illinois, New York have not adopted the act.
◦Washington: Residents of Washington State are protected by the state’s Electronic Authentication Act, which was enacted in 1997 as a way to “facilitate commerce by means of reliable electronic messages.” This act was especially important, because it was the first of its kind in the U.S. ◦Illinois: In the state of Illinois, the Electronic Commerce Security Act went into effect on July 1, 1999. The law was intended to eliminate uncertainty over the legal requirements for secure electronic signatures and records, however it refrained from offering any strict definitions with regard to which technologies or platforms should be used. ◦New York: New York State adopted the Electronic Signatures and Records Act, which ensures that electronic signatures are just as legally binding as those written in pen and gives the government authority to archive records electronically versus in paper format. * an electronic record and an electronic signature are two different things that must be linked together in order to remain enforceable under the law. For example, an e-signature must be attached to or located somewhere on the electronic document in order for the document to be valid in a legal sense
Before adoption of this Act, most states required banks to retain physical copies of all checks they process.
Approved by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1999, Forty-seven states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)
Washington, Illinois, New York have not adopted the act.
◦Washington: Residents of Washington State are protected by the state’s Electronic Authentication Act, which was enacted in 1997 as a way to “facilitate commerce by means of reliable electronic messages.” This act was especially important, because it was the first of its kind in the U.S. ◦Illinois: In the state of Illinois, the Electronic Commerce Security Act went into effect on July 1, 1999. The law was intended to eliminate uncertainty over the legal requirements for secure electronic signatures and records, however it refrained from offering any strict definitions with regard to which technologies or platforms should be used. ◦New York: New York State adopted the Electronic Signatures and Records Act, which ensures that electronic signatures are just as legally binding as those written in pen and gives the government authority to archive records electronically versus in paper format. * an electronic record and an electronic signature are two different things that must be linked together in order to remain enforceable under the law. For example, an e-signature must be attached to or located somewhere on the electronic document in order for the document to be valid in a legal sense
Before adoption of this Act, most states required banks to retain physical copies of all checks they process.