Electronic Signature Disclosure and Legal Notice

Effective date: 19 October 2026 · Last updated: 19 October 2026

Disclosure version shown to signers: 2026-10-01

This page is for people who receive a document to sign through Bona Fide, and for customers who send them. Bona Fide is operated by The Republic US LLC, Lewes, Delaware, USA. Bona Fide provides the signing tool; the organization or person who sent you the document (“the sender”) is the party you are dealing with, not Bona Fide.

1. The consent you give before signing

Before you sign, the signing page shows this text (in your language where a translation exists; the English text is the one that applies):

By selecting “I agree” you consent to receive this document electronically and to sign it with an electronic signature, which is as legally binding as a handwritten one. You can ask the sender for a paper copy, and you may withdraw consent at any time before you sign by declining. Bona Fide records your IP address, browser, the time of each step and a fingerprint of the document you saw as evidence.

What “as legally binding as a handwritten one” means. In the United States, under the federal ESIGN Act and state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA), an electronic signature has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature: it may not be denied legal effect solely because it is electronic. Elsewhere, the legal effect of an electronic signature depends on local law. For example, in the European Union a simple electronic signature cannot be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence solely because it is electronic (eIDAS Regulation, Art. 25), but only a qualified electronic signature has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature in every Member State. In every country, some documents are excluded or need more than an electronic signature (see Section 6).

The rest of this page explains that consent in more detail.

2. What you are agreeing to

• Electronic records. You agree to receive this document, and records and notices related to it, electronically instead of on paper.
• Electronic signature. You agree that the signature you draw, type or upload, and your act of selecting the sign or submit button, are your electronic signature on the document and show your intent to sign it.
• Scope. Your consent applies only to the document (envelope) you are signing now and the related notices for it, unless the sender tells you that it covers more. Senders who want your consent for other or future records must obtain it themselves.

3. Your rights

• Paper copy. You can ask the sender for a paper copy of the document. The sender decides whether a fee applies and must tell you; Bona Fide does not charge signers.
• Withdrawing consent. You can withdraw consent at any time before you sign by selecting Decline on the signing page, or by contacting the sender. Declining ends the signing process for that document; the sender may then offer another way to sign. Withdrawal does not affect documents you already signed.
• Updating your contact details. Tell the sender if your email address or phone number changes.
• Keeping a copy. When everyone has signed, you receive an email with access to the completed, sealed PDF (the download link is valid for 30 days). Save it to keep a permanent copy.

4. What you need

• A device with a current version of a common web browser (for example Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari) with JavaScript enabled. No account, plug-in or cookies are needed.
• Access to the email account the document was sent to, and to any other verification method the sender requires.
• A PDF reader (for example Adobe Acrobat Reader) and storage space to save the completed document. Acrobat Reader can also check the document’s timestamp seal.
• The signing page is available in 50 languages and supports right-to-left scripts. A typed signature is available as an alternative to drawing one.

By selecting “I agree” you confirm that you can open and read the document on your device, which shows that you can access the electronic records. The signing page shows you the document before you give your consent.

If these requirements change in a way that could prevent you from accessing or keeping records, the sender must tell you and ask for your consent again.

5. How Bona Fide signatures work

1. The sender uploads a document and invites you by email (or shows it in their own app).
2. Your unique link, and if the sender requires it a one-time code sent to your email, or the sender’s confirmation of your identity in their app, lets you open the document.
3. You review the document, fill the fields assigned to you, and sign. The page checks that the document you saw is exactly the one you sign (by its SHA-256 fingerprint); if it changed, signing is refused.
4. When everyone has signed, Bona Fide flattens the document, attaches a certificate of completion (names, email addresses, verification method, timestamps, IP address and device of every signer, and the event timeline), and seals it with a timestamp from an independent, publicly trusted timestamp authority. Any later change to the file breaks the seal.
5. The document’s fingerprint is added to Bona Fide’s public, hourly-signed anchor log. Anyone who has the file can check it at bonafidesign.com/verify; the file is hashed in the browser and never uploaded.

6. Legal effect and limits

• United States. The federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq.) and state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) provide that a signature or record may not be denied legal effect solely because it is in electronic form.
• European Union. Under the eIDAS Regulation (EU) No 910/2014, Art. 25, an electronic signature may not be denied legal effect or admissibility as evidence solely because it is electronic. Bona Fide’s standard signatures are simple electronic signatures (“electronic signatures” in eIDAS terms); they are not advanced or qualified electronic signatures. Only a qualified electronic signature has the equivalent legal effect of a handwritten signature in all Member States. Bona Fide does not yet offer qualified electronic signatures.
• United Kingdom and many other countries also recognize electronic signatures, with their own rules.
• Exclusions. Some documents cannot be signed electronically, or need a witness, a notary, a specific signature level or paper. Examples include (depending on the place): wills, codicils and testamentary trusts; many family-law matters (adoption, divorce); court orders, pleadings and other court documents; certain notices (such as cancellation of utility services, default, foreclosure or eviction notices for a primary residence, cancellation of health or life insurance, product recalls); documents that must accompany hazardous materials; some real-estate conveyances and powers of attorney; and documents requiring notarization. Under ESIGN, see 15 U.S.C. § 7003.
• Responsibility. The sender is responsible for deciding whether an electronic signature, and which type, is appropriate and enforceable for its document and jurisdiction, and for any additional consumer disclosures its industry requires. Bona Fide does not give legal advice and is not a party to the document.
• Evidence. The audit trail, certificate of completion, timestamp seal and anchor log are strong evidence of what happened, but no technology can guarantee that a court will accept a particular signature, or prove who was physically using a device.

7. Your data

Bona Fide processes your data for the sender. Read the Privacy Policy for what we record (including IP address, browser, timestamps and the document fingerprint), how long it is kept and how to exercise your rights.

8. Test documents

Documents sent in test mode carry a watermark and are not intended to be legally binding.

9. Questions and suspicious messages

Questions about the document itself: contact the sender. If you did not expect the document or think the email is fraudulent, do not sign and forward it to security@bonafidesign.com.

Bona Fide · The Republic US LLC, 16192 Coastal Highway, Lewes, Delaware 19958, USA · contact@bonafidesign.com

Published in English, which is the governing version. Questions: contact@bonafidesign.com. The Republic US LLC, 16192 Coastal Highway, Lewes, Delaware 19958, USA · +1 302 984 7474