Electronic signatures in CanadaBuilt for business
across Canada.

There is no single national yes. In Ontario, section 11(1) of the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 says that, subject to subsections (3) and (4), a legal requirement that a document be signed is satisfied by an electronic signature. That signature is electronic information a person creates or adopts in order to sign a document and that is in, attached to, or associated with the document. Section 4 says information or a document to which the Act applies is not invalid or unenforceable only because it is electronic. Section 5 says a writing requirement is satisfied by an electronic form if it is accessible so as to be usable for subsequent reference. Section 19(3) says a contract is not invalid or unenforceable only because it is electronic. Subsections 11(3) and 11(4) add reliability or technology rules only if the document is prescribed. Section 3 says the Act does not require a person to use an electronic form without consent, and consent may be inferred from conduct. Other provinces and territories have their own statutes. Quebec's Act to establish a legal framework for information technology is a different statute. Part 2 of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act is a federal rule for listed provisions, not a general rule for a private contract. The standard inSigner signature is an electronic signature. It is not a secure electronic signature. Whether it is enough still depends on the document and the law that governs it.

Subsection 31(1) defines an electronic signature as a signature that consists of one or more letters, characters, numbers, or other symbols in digital form incorporated in, attached to, or associated with an electronic document. A secure electronic signature is an electronic signature that results from a technology or process prescribed under subsection 48(1). The Governor in Council may prescribe a process only if it can be proved that the signature is unique to the person, the use is under that person's sole control, the process can identify the person, and the signature can show whether the document changed. The Secure Electronic Signature Regulations, SOR/2005-30, prescribe a digital signature: a hash of the data, a private key applied to that digest, a certificate or a means of access to one, and a check that the digests match and that the certificate is valid. Sections 42, 44, 45, and 46 call for that signature for certain federal requirements, including an original, an oath or solemn affirmation, a statement of truth, and a witnessed signature. Section 43 says a federal signature requirement is satisfied by an electronic signature only if the federal law or provision is listed in Schedule 2 or 3 and the regulations for that provision are met. inSigner does not issue that certificate. QES for Europe is an Enterprise option and is not a secure electronic signature.

Each person signs the fields you placed on the document you sent. The evidence record keeps their name and email or phone, when the document was sent, viewed, and signed, the IP address, the device data, and the authentication used.

Yes. You can download the completed PDF and the evidence record, including a SHA-256 hash of the final file. If a single byte changes, the hash no longer matches. The hash shows whether the final file still matches. It is not the hash step in the Secure Electronic Signature Regulations, and it is not encryption. Section 8 of the Ontario Act is about a reliable assurance of integrity when an original document must be provided, retained, or examined. The hash does not by itself decide that section.

No. Essential and Pro use a simple electronic signature. SOR/2005-30 describes a digital signature with a certificate. inSigner does not provide that certificate. QES for Europe is an Enterprise option, priced separately, and it is not a Canadian secure electronic signature. It is not on Essential or Pro.

No. The Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 is an Ontario statute. Section 31 says it does not apply to wills and codicils, trusts created by wills or codicils, powers of attorney for an individual's financial affairs or personal care, negotiable instruments, documents that are prescribed, or, except for section 23, documents of title. The official text shows that paragraph 4 of subsection 31(1) was repealed on 1 July 2015. Section 30 excludes the Election Act and the Municipal Elections Act, 1996. Section 17 says a signature provided to a public body must meet that body's information technology standards and its method and reliability requirements, if any. Section 26 preserves other laws that expressly authorize, prohibit, or regulate electronic documents. Quebec is not governed by the Ontario Act. Article 39 of the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology says a signature may be affixed by any process that meets article 2827 of the Civil Code, and that a signature on a technology-based document may be set up against the person when integrity is ensured and the link with the document is maintained. inSigner does not decide whether article 2827 is met. inSigner does not act as a notary, does not witness a signature, and does not file a document in a land registry. Your counsel decides the form a document needs.

Not by itself. Section 3 says nothing in the Act requires a person to use, provide, or accept information or a document in electronic form without that person's consent. Consent may be inferred from conduct if there are reasonable grounds to believe it is genuine and relevant to the information or document. Section 14 says the consent of a public body is given only by an explicit communication. Accepting the electronic process in inSigner records consent to sign that document. It is not, by itself, consent under section 3 to receive the document electronically, and it does not meet section 17.

No. For the documents you send, you decide the purpose. inSigner does not write your privacy notice and does not make a workflow compliant with PIPEDA or a provincial privacy law. Nubesti handles the account, billing, security, support, and marketing. Do not use the product by default for patient forms, clinical consent, account opening, credit decisions, or KYC. Identity checks are add-ons priced separately. There is no public status page and no uptime percentage. The mobile apps are planned, not a public download.