Electronic signature notice

Signatures created in Charter are simple electronic signatures. Their validity rests on two things: the signer's demonstrated intent to sign, captured through an explicit consent step before any field can be completed, and an audit trail recorded alongside the document.

That audit trail records each view, signature, and decline, with a timestamp, the originating IP address, the browser user agent, and a SHA-256 hash of the document at each stage. The hashes let anyone confirm afterwards that the file has not changed since it was signed. A certificate of completion summarising all of this is appended to the final PDF.

This approach is consistent with the US ESIGN Act and with simple electronic signatures under EU eIDAS (Regulation 910/2014). It is not an advanced or qualified electronic signature, and Charter is not a notarisation service, a certificate authority, or a qualified trust service provider. Documents that require notarisation, a qualified certificate, or a witnessed signature under the law that governs them need a different tool.

Nothing here is legal advice. Whether an electronic signature suffices for a given agreement depends on the document and the jurisdiction.