E-Signatures and Remote Online Notarization:
The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (“
UETA”) proposed by the Uniform Law Commission (“
ULC”) in 1999 presented ways for states to effectuate electronic signatures with the same legal validity of wet ink signatures. At the federal level, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (“
E-SIGN”), was passed by Congress in 2000, authorizing the use of electronic signatures and notarizations for transactions between two or more parties in all jurisdictions where federal laws apply. UETA has been adopted by the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and every state except Illinois and New York. While the remaining two states, New York and Illinois, have implemented their own statues addressing electronic signatures, Washington enacted UETA effective as of June 11, 2020