Wet Signature vs Electronic Signature: What’s the Difference?

In the United States, laws such as the ESIGN Act and UETA generally prevent a signature from being denied legal effect solely because it is electronic, subject to their scope and exceptions. The EU’s eIDAS and Switzerland’s ZertES establish their own electronic-signature frameworks and assurance levels. Requirements depend on the jurisdiction, document, and signing process.

An electronic signature is the broad category, while a digital signature is a cryptographic technique that can support an electronic-signature process. This page compares signing on paper with signing electronically; the linked guide explains the technical distinction.

Neither method is automatically more secure in every situation. Wet signatures depend on physical-document controls. Electronic-signature workflows can add access controls, identity verification, tamper evidence, and audit trails, with the assurance level determined by the platform and configuration.

Sign.Plus supports controlled access and provides a certificate of completion that records signing events such as signer details, timestamps, IP addresses, and devices. These records can make an electronic workflow easier to trace and verify than a standalone paper signature.
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