Electronic signature and digital signature are related terms, not opposites on a weak-to-strong legal scale. Electronic signature describes an intentional electronic signing act associated with a record. Digital signature usually describes a cryptographic method for checking data integrity and a relationship to a signing key.
Electronic signature describes an intentional act
A typed name, click or signature image may be an electronic signature when used with the required intent and association. The visual mark alone does not prove that context. Preserve the record and the circumstances of the signing act rather than relying only on how the mark looks.
Digital signature describes a verification mechanism
A digital-signature algorithm uses a private key to sign data and a public key to verify the signature. Verification can detect a changed signed document. A certificate may bind a public key to an identity under an issuer’s process. This is not the same as encrypting the entire document or guaranteeing the key was never misused.
Technical assurance depends on algorithms, key controls, certificate policies and validation practices. Applicable law determines legal effect. Neither category eliminates fraud or guarantees enforceability, confidentiality or non-repudiation in every setting.
Technical verification does not settle authority
Identity, intent, authority and document integrity are separate questions. A successful technical verification does not show that a company representative had permission to agree to the terms. A completion log can support evidence but does not decide every possible dispute.
Hypothetical example: Suppose a fictional person signs a PDF using a valid certificate but lacks authority to bind the company named in it. The cryptographic check can succeed while the authority question remains unresolved. Conversely, a properly evidenced electronic signing process without a signer-held certificate is not automatically invalid merely because it uses a different mechanism.
Match the mechanism to the document and recipient
Check the applicable document requirements, risk and recipient acceptance. If a certificate-based format is required, test it independently. If not, evaluate the broader signing workflow, authentication, review opportunity and reproducible record rather than buying a certificate simply because the word digital sounds safer.
- Intent and associated record identifiable.
- Integrity and confidentiality not conflated.
- Identity separate from authority.
- Recipient technical requirements confirmed.
- Verification evidence preserved with the signed file.
15 U.S.C. § 7006(5) defines electronic signature through intent and association with a record, without prescribing a particular visual mark or cryptographic product.
UETA §§ 2(8), 7 and 9 distinguish the signature definition, legal recognition and attribution. UETA is a model act; the applicable enacted state law must also be checked.