Scale Suite
Electronic signatures and records
What signers agree to when they sign in Sign, and what senders must know.
Effective [date set after attorney review]. Last updated October 28, 2026.
Draft for attorney review. Published October 28, 2026. Words in [brackets] are decisions still to be made. This page may change before Scale Suite opens on January 1, 2027.
On this page
1.How Sign works
Sign lets a business send documents for electronic signature. Signers do not need an account. Each signer confirms their email with a one time code, reviews the document, agrees to sign electronically, and signs. The business countersigns last. The signed document and its audit trail are sealed, saved to Drive and sent to everyone who signed.
For senders, this page is part of the Terms of service. For signers, section 3 is the consent you give.
2.Electronic signatures are valid
Under the federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. 7001 and following) and state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, including California's (Civil Code section 1633.1 and following), a signature or record cannot be denied legal effect only because it is electronic, when the parties agree to do business electronically.
3.The consent signers give
Before your first signature on a document, Sign shows this, and you agree by checking a box:
"I agree to sign this document electronically. My electronic signature is as legally binding as my handwritten signature under the ESIGN Act and UETA. I can ask for a paper copy at any time."
By agreeing, you also confirm that:
- Your consent covers this document and the records that come with it, like the completion certificate. [Decision: whether consent also covers later documents from the same sender.]
- You can ask the sender for a paper copy at any time. [Decision: paper copies are free.]
- You can withdraw your consent before you sign by closing the document and telling the sender. After that, the sender must use paper. Withdrawing does not undo a signature already made.
- You need a current web browser, an email address you can read, and a way to open or save a PDF. Opening the document in your browser shows that you can read the records.
- Keep your email address up to date with the sender.
[Being built: these disclosures shown in full on the consent screen, with a link to this page.]
4.The audit trail
For each document, Sign records who was asked to sign, each email confirmation, when each person opened, agreed and signed, the network address and device used [confirm IP and device are captured], and a fingerprint (hash) of the final document. The completion certificate shows this record. If anyone changes the file after signing, the seal shows it was changed.
Sign confirms control of an email address. It does not check government ID. If you need more proof of who signed, use another method too.
5.Documents Sign cannot be used for
The ESIGN Act does not cover some documents, and they need paper or another method. Do not use Sign for:
- wills, codicils and testamentary trusts
- adoption, divorce and other family law matters
- court orders, notices and official court documents
- notices that end utility service
- notices of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure or eviction, or the right to cure, for a primary home under a loan or a lease
- notices ending health or life insurance
- product recall notices, and documents that must travel with hazardous materials
- most Uniform Commercial Code documents other than sales and leases of goods
Sign warns you when a document looks like one of these. [Being built: the warning.] Some other laws also have special rules, for example for certain real estate, notary and consumer finance documents. If you are not sure, ask a lawyer before you send.
6.Consumers
If a law requires you to give a consumer information in writing, the ESIGN Act requires extra steps before you can give it electronically, including telling them about their rights and getting their consent in a way that shows they can open the records (15 U.S.C. 7001(c)). The sender is responsible for these steps.
7.Keeping records
Signed documents stay in Drive until you delete them. Keep your own copy of anything you may need to prove later. See Data retention.
8.Sender responsibilities
As the sender, you decide whether an electronic signature fits each document, you send it to the right people, and you are responsible for its contents. Scale is not a party to your documents and does not give legal advice.
9.Contact
Questions about this page: legal@scalembs.com, or by mail to Scale Modern Business Solutions LLC, 2415 San Ramon Valley Blvd, Suite 4, San Ramon, CA 94583.