eSignature Legality in Uruguay

emSigner Supports Following Use Cases for Standard Electronic Signatures (SES)

• Regular employment contracts, non-disclosure agreements, employee invention agreements, privacy notices, benefits paperwork and other new employee onboarding processes under HR operations of an organization
• Software license agreements
• Copyright, patent and trademark licenses
• Commercial agreements between corporate entities including non-disclosure agreements, purchase orders, order acknowledgements, invoices, other procurement documents, sales agreements, distribution agreements, service agreements
• Consumer agreements including new retail account opening documents, sales terms, services terms, software licenses, purchase orders, order confirmations, invoices, shipment documentation, user manuals, policies
• Residential and commercial lease agreements except termination notices regarding residential lease agreements
• Intangible property transfers (e.g., patent and copyright assignments)

emSigner Supports Following Use Cases for Standard Electronic Signatures Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

• Any contracts that set forth obligations with a value over 100 Readjustable Units (“Unidades Reajustables”) (approximately USD 2,856) (Article 1595 Uruguayan Civil Code)
• Labor contracts or labor contracts that estipulate a defined- term (case law)
• Settlement agreement (Article 2147 Uruguayan Civil Code)
• Lease agreements of rural estate properties and sharecropping (Act 14.384)
• Insurance agreements (Article 644 Uruguayan Commercial Civil Code)
• Agreements on interests in Loan Agreements (Article 2205 Uruguayan Civil Code)

emSigner Works With the Local Trust Service Providers and Supports Following Use Cases For Qualified Electronic Signature (QES)

• Securities (títulos valores) (Act 14.701)

Use Cases That Are Not Supported or Typically Not Appropriate for Electronic Signatures or Digital Transaction Management Using emSigner

Following are the use cases that are specifically not supported for digital or electronic processes or that includes requirements wherein wet ink or handwritten signatures or formal notarization is required.

• Life-time annuity contract (Article 2183 Uruguayan Civil Code)
• Trust contracts (Article 2 Act 17.703)
• Articles of incorporation of a company or corporation (Article 277 Act 16.320)
• Contracts to purchase or transfer real property (Article 1619, 1664, ad 1770 Uruguayan Civil Code)
• Certain contracts governed by family law, such as marriage contracts (Article 1943 Uruguayan Civil Code)
• Certain contracts governed by the law of success, such as contracts of inheritance (Article 793 Uruguayan Civil Code), contracts waiving inheritance (Article 1075 Uruguayan Civil Code), inheritance sales (Article 1664 Uruguayan Civil Code)
• Certain guarantee contracts: Mortgage Contract (Article 2323 Uruguayan Civil Code); Antichresis Contract (Article 2350 Uruguayan Civil Code); Pledge Without Delivery (Prenda sin desplazamiento) (Article 4 Act 17.228)

General Definitions

Simple Electronic Signature (SES)

A Simple Electronic Signature (SES) refers to any electronic data that is logically associated with other electronic data and used by a person to sign. This can include:

• Typing a name at the end of an email,
• Clicking an “I accept” button,
• Pasting a scanned image of a signature, or
• Using a stylus or finger to draw a signature on a touchscreen.

While SES can indicate intent to sign, it lacks advanced identity verification, integrity protection, or security features, making it the least secure type of electronic signature. It is legally valid in many jurisdictions but may not carry strong evidentiary weight without additional context or proof.

Advanced Electronic Signature (AES)

An Advanced Electronic Signature (AES) is a more secure form of electronic signature that must meet the following criteria:

• it is uniquely linked to the signatory
• it is capable of identifying the signatory
• it is created using means that are under the sole control of the signatory, and
• it is linked to the signed data in such a way that any subsequent change in the data is detectable.

AES provides enhanced legal reliability compared to SES and is often supported by multi-factor authentication, encryption, and audit trails.

Qualified Electronic Signature (QES)

A Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) is a type of Advanced Electronic Signature that additionally:

• is created using a qualified signature creation device (such as a secure token or smart card); and
• is backed by a qualified digital certificate issued by a recognized or accredited trust service provider.

QES provides the highest level of trust and legal assurance, and in many jurisdictions (like the EU under eIDAS, India IT Act, etc), it holds the same legal status as a handwritten signature.

Digital Signature

A Digital Signature is a specific technological implementation of an electronic signature that uses asymmetric cryptography. It allows a verifier to:

• confirm that the signature was created using the private key corresponding to the signer’s public key; and
• ensure that the signed message or document has not been altered after signing.

Digital signatures are the underlying cryptographic mechanism used in both AES and QES. They offer strong security guarantees such as authenticity, integrity, and non-repudiation and are often implemented through Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) systems.

External Resources