Verify the legal validity tier of an e-signature under ESIGN, UETA, and eIDAS frameworks

Steps

1. Classify the signature type used: Simple Electronic Signature (SES) — any typed name or click-to-sign; Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) — identity-verified, tamper-evident; Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) — issued by an EU Trust Service Provider with a qualified certificate.
2. Map your use case to the required tier: most commercial contracts in the US are valid with SES under ESIGN/UETA; EU regulated documents (real estate, court filings, employment in some jurisdictions) may require AES or QES under eIDAS.
3. For US transactions, confirm both parties are in jurisdictions covered by ESIGN or state-level UETA adoption and that the contract type is not excluded (wills, certain family law documents, and UCC Articles 3/4/9 have carve-outs).
4. For EU/EEA transactions, determine the required trust level by consulting the eIDAS regulation Annex and any sector-specific national law; escalate to a lawyer if the required tier is unclear.
5. Request a qualified trust service provider (QTSP) from the EU Trust List for QES issuance if required; standard e-signature platforms do not issue QES without a separate QTSP integration.
6. Retain the audit trail and evidence package (signing certificate, timestamp, IP log, consent record) as proof of validity; store these alongside the executed document in immutable storage.