Is an electronic signature legally valid?
In most of Europe and North America, yes — for the majority of everyday agreements. The EU regulation known as eIDAS recognises simple electronic signatures, and the ESIGN Act does the same in the United States. Certain documents, typically wills, property transfers and some court filings, still require a handwritten signature or a notary. For a rental agreement, a job offer or a supplier form, a drawn signature is normally accepted.
Drawn signature versus digital certificate
These are two different things and the distinction matters. A drawn signature is an image of your handwriting placed on the page — visually identical to signing on paper. A digital certificate is cryptographic: it ties the document to a verified identity and proves the file has not been altered since signing. Banks, government portals and legal filings often require the second. Everyday business correspondence rarely does.
Why not print and scan?
Beyond the wasted time, scanning degrades the document. Text that was crisp and selectable becomes a photograph of text: larger file, no longer searchable, often grey and skewed. Signing digitally keeps the original quality and leaves the rest of the page untouched.
Drawing a signature that looks right
A mouse produces a shakier line than a pen. If you are on a laptop, a trackpad usually gives smoother curves than a mouse. On a phone or tablet, your finger works well because the movement is closer to real handwriting. Draw larger than feels natural — the signature is scaled down when placed on the page, and scaling down hides small imperfections.
Where to place it
Most contracts have a signature line near the bottom of the last page, so bottom-right or bottom-left is the usual choice. Check which page actually needs signing before you start — on a ten-page agreement it is rarely page one. If the document has a designated box, choose the corner that lands closest to it.
A word on privacy
A signature is personal data, and contracts often contain more of it. Tools that process the file in your browser never upload the document or the signature anywhere, which removes the question of what a server does with either.