Signature & legal binding
A signature is only worth the record behind it. When someone signs an Ultron agreement, four things are captured together — their explicit consent to sign electronically, their verified identity, an append-only audit trail of every event, and a tamper-evident fingerprint of the document. That record is what makes the signature legally binding under the ESIGN Act and UETA, and it is preserved in a certificate of completion handed to every party.
Overview
- Standard
- ESIGN Act and UETA electronic-signature law
- Consent
- Mandatory; submission is refused without it
- Identity
- Unique per-signer link; name, email, role, IP, device captured
- Audit trail
- Append-only log of every event with actor and UTC timestamp
- Integrity
- Document fingerprint; any alteration is detectable
- Proof
- A certificate of completion for every party
The lifecycle page covers how an agreement moves from draft to completed. This page covers why the result holds up: what is captured at the moment of signing, and how the finished document proves it.
Consent
Signing electronically is an explicit, recorded choice.
Before a signer can submit, they must affirmatively agree to sign electronically under the ESIGN Act and UETA. It is a required step — a submission without it is rejected — and the moment of consent is recorded with a timestamp. There is no silent or implied signature.
Identity
Who signed, established at access and at signing.
A signer reaches their document only through a unique, private link sent to their own email address — access is scoped to the intended person. When they sign, the platform captures their name, email, and role along with the IP address and device or browser they signed from. That binds the act of signing to a specific person, place, and moment.
The audit trail
Every event, appended and never rewritten.
An append-only log records the full history of the agreement. Each entry carries the actor, a UTC timestamp, and the IP and device where relevant. Entries are never edited or removed — the trail only grows.
| Event | Recorded when |
|---|---|
| Created | The agreement is drafted |
| Recipient added / removed | The signer or viewer list changes |
| Updated | The document or its fields are edited |
| Sent | It goes out for signature |
| Opened | A signer opens their link |
| Signed | A signer completes their signature |
| Completed | The last signer has signed |
Tamper-evidence
The document proves it has not changed.
A cryptographic fingerprint is taken of the document. Any change to the content — a single character — produces a different fingerprint, so alteration is detectable rather than silent. Once an agreement is completed, it is immutable: the signed record and its fingerprint are fixed.
The certificate
The portable proof of everything above.
On completion, every party receives two artifacts: the flattened signed contract, and a standalone certificate of completion. The certificate gathers the evidence in one place — the identities and roles, the timestamps, the consent record, the IP and device for each signer, the signature specimens, the document fingerprints, and the ESIGN/UETA and tamper-evidence disclosures. It is stored with the agreement and emailed to everyone, so the proof travels with the document.