Uniform Electronic Transactions Act

Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA)

An attempt to bring commerce into the twenty-first century by recognizing the importance of electronic documents and by providing rules for granting legal effect to them and protecting against abuses. Many states passed local versions of the UETA; some apply to real estate and some do not.The federal version is called the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign). It governs in the absence of state laws, or when state laws are inconsistent with E-Sign.The critical issue in real estate is whether an exchange of e-mails or e-mailed documents may satisfy the Statute of Frauds requirement that almost all contracts related to real estate must be in writing.This issue is still unsettled and controversial. See also uniform laws.