Are e-signed change orders legal?

This is general information, not legal advice. Laws differ by state and province and change over time. For your own contracts, ask a lawyer where you work.

In the United States

Two laws do most of the work.

• The ESIGN Act (the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 2000) is federal. It says a signature, contract or record in a transaction can't be denied legal effect only because it is electronic.
• UETA (the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act) says much the same at the state level. Almost every state has adopted it. New York has its own law, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act, which does a similar job.

Under both, an electronic signature can be a drawn signature, a typed name, or a click, as long as the person did it meaning to sign that record.

Consumers get extra protection. When a law says a consumer must get something in writing, ESIGN lets you give it electronically only after the consumer agrees to that, having been told they can ask for paper, how to withdraw their consent, and what device and software they need to open and keep the record. A homeowner is a consumer, so it is good practice to get that consent for every change order.

What these laws don't cover. They don't change what a contract has to say. If your state requires certain wording in a home improvement contract, a notice of the right to cancel, or a license number, an electronic change order needs those too. Wills, some court papers and some notices are left out of these laws altogether; ordinary construction contracts and change orders are not.

In Canada

Each province and territory has its own act, most of them built on the same model, the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act. For example:

• Alberta: the Electronic Transactions Act.
• British Columbia: the Electronic Transactions Act.
• Ontario: the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000.
• Quebec: the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology.

They say much the same as the US laws: information or a signature isn't invalid only because it is electronic. Nobody has to use electronic documents, but consent can be shown by what a person does, such as choosing to sign on their phone. The acts leave out some documents, such as wills, powers of attorney and documents that transfer land; a change order on a renovation is not one of them.

Provincial consumer protection laws can add their own rules for home improvement and door-to-door contracts, such as what the contract must include and when the customer can cancel. Signing electronically doesn't remove those rules.

What makes an e-signature hold up

If a customer ever says "I never agreed to that", what helps is evidence of four things:

1. Intent to sign. The customer took a clear step to sign this change order, next to words that say so, not a vague "OK".
2. Consent to sign electronically. They agreed to use electronic records and signatures, after being told they could ask for paper and withdraw their consent.
3. Attribution. The signature can be tied to the person: the link went to their own email or phone, and the record keeps when they opened it and signed, from which internet address and on which device.
4. A record they can keep, unchanged. They got a copy at the time, and there is a way to show the copy is exactly what they signed.

It also helps when the change order says what it changes: which job, which agreement, the price before and after, and that the rest of the agreement stays the same.

What Changed records

When a customer signs off on a change order in Changed, it keeps:

• Consent. A required box above the button: "I agree to use electronic records and signatures, and that my electronic signature has the same effect as signing on paper." Under it, a short disclosure: they can ask for a paper copy, withdraw consent before signing off, what they need to open the page and a PDF, and how they get their copy. Changed records when they ticked it and which version of the words they saw, and refuses a sign-off without it.
• Intent. Right at the button: "By tapping Sign off, you are signing this change order."
• The terms as sent. Your terms and any schedule change are copied onto the change order when it is sent, so a later edit in Settings never changes what a customer signed.
• The signature. Drawn with a finger, or their name typed, with the name they check.
• Time, internet address and device. When it was sent, first opened, when they consented and when they signed off, with their IP address and browser.
• A fingerprint. A hash of exactly what their page showed, checked when they sign, so a change order edited in between can't be signed. The signed PDF's own SHA-256 fingerprint is kept too.
• A sign-off certificate. The last page of the signed PDF lists all of the above, with the consent words they agreed to. Anything not recorded says "not recorded".
• A check page. The PDF names a page where anyone can check their copy; it says Matches or Doesn't match, and the file never leaves their device.

The customer gets the signed PDF by email and can download it from their page. See The signed PDF and What the customer sees.

What Changed doesn't do. It doesn't check a government ID or ask identity questions. The link goes to the customer's own email or phone, so the proof of who signed is that, with the time, internet address and device kept beside it. Whoever has that phone or inbox can open the link. Your own contract should also say that changes are agreed in writing, signed electronically or on paper. See Terms and schedule.