This is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and details depend on the document, the parties and the jurisdiction. Each section links to the official text; check it, or ask a lawyer, before relying on an e-signature for anything important.
First: what kind of signature OpenSigner makes
OpenSigner creates a simple electronic signature: a drawn, typed or image signature placed on the PDF, plus a SHA-256 tamper seal and a completion certificate. It does not verify the signer's identity and is not a certificate-based digital signature from a licensed or qualified trust service provider. Where a law requires one of those, OpenSigner is not enough.
United States
The federal ESIGN Act (2000) says a signature or contract relating to a transaction in interstate or foreign commerce may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form. Most states have also adopted the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). ESIGN lists exceptions, including wills, codicils and testamentary trusts, many family-law matters such as adoption and divorce, court orders and certain notices (for example utility cut-offs and foreclosure or eviction notices).
European Union
The eIDAS Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 (Article 25) says an electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence solely because it is electronic. It defines three levels: simple, advanced and qualified. Only a qualified electronic signature (QES) has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature across the EU. Whether a particular document needs a QES, or a handwritten or notarised signature, is mostly decided by each member state's national law.
United Kingdom
Section 7 of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 makes electronic signatures admissible in evidence. In its 2019 report on electronic execution of documents, the Law Commission of England and Wales concluded that an electronic signature is generally capable of validly executing a document, where the signer intends to authenticate it. Some documents have extra formalities: deeds need a witness, and wills must still be signed and witnessed under the Wills Act.
Canada
Part 2 of the federal PIPEDA covers electronic documents and signatures for federal laws, and provinces and territories have their own electronic commerce acts, most based on the Uniform Law Conference of Canada's Uniform Electronic Commerce Act (UECA); Quebec has its own legal framework for information technology. Exclusions vary by province and commonly include wills, powers of attorney and documents that transfer interests in land.
Australia
Under section 10 of the Commonwealth Electronic Transactions Act 1999, a legal requirement for a signature can be met electronically if the method identifies the person and their intention, is appropriately reliable, and the other party consents. Each state and territory has a matching act. Exclusions are set in regulations and state laws and can include things like wills and certain land and court documents.
Singapore
The Electronic Transactions Act 2010 provides that an electronic signature can satisfy a legal requirement for a signature, and gives "secure electronic signatures" extra evidential presumptions. Its First Schedule excludes certain matters, such as wills; check the current schedule, as it has been amended.
India
The Information Technology Act, 2000 recognises electronic records and signatures. Section 3A allows authentication by electronic techniques listed in its Second Schedule, which covers methods such as Aadhaar eSign and certificate-based digital signatures (a simple e-signature like OpenSigner's is not one of them). Section 10A says a contract is not unenforceable merely because it was formed electronically. The First Schedule excludes documents such as wills, powers of attorney, trusts and contracts for the sale or conveyance of immovable property.
United Arab Emirates
Federal Decree-Law No. 46 of 2021 on Electronic Transactions and Trust Services recognises electronic signatures and sets up "reliable" and qualified signatures issued through trust service providers licensed by the TDRA. The Cabinet can add or exclude transactions from its scope, and some matters, such as certain real-estate transactions, have had separate rules, so check the current position for your document.
Everywhere else
Most countries now have an electronic transactions or e-signature law, many modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce or Model Law on Electronic Signatures. The same kinds of documents are commonly excluded or need extra formalities: wills and testamentary documents, property deeds and land transfers, powers of attorney, documents that must be notarised or witnessed, court filings, and some family-law documents. Government filings often require a specific certificate-based signature.
Making a simple e-signature stronger in practice
- Agree with the other party in advance that you will sign electronically (email is enough evidence of that).
- Keep the signed file and its completion certificate; OpenSigner's SHA-256 seal lets anyone check the file is unchanged.
- Send the document from an email address or account clearly linked to you, which helps show who signed.